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House of Representatives Appropriations
Committee Chairman Hal Rogers urged Congress instead to pass a
full-fledged government spending bill that lasts until Sept. 30,
2015.
To do otherwise would be "punting" on important duties and put
the United States "on an uncertain and unstable fiscal path,"
Rogers wrote in an opinion piece published by the Roll Call
newspaper.
"Worst of all, it would send a signal to the American people,
just weeks after they told us to get our acts together, that we
haven’t been listening," the Kentucky Republican wrote.
Congress must authorize new federal spending by Dec. 11 to avoid
a government shutdown. Rogers is currently negotiating with
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski to
craft an "omnibus" spending bill that would last until Sept. 30,
2015.
But more than 63 House conservatives have called for a
short-term spending bill that would deny the funds needed to
implement any executive action taken by Obama to issue
identification cards or work permits to millions of undocumented
immigrants.
Such a strategy, which would ultimately threaten a government
shutdown, is under discussion by Republican leaders in the House
and Senate.
Rogers also argued Congress should fully fund the government for
2015 so it can concentrate on other priorities next year, such
as tax reform and reducing government regulations.
"There simply won’t be the necessary political bandwidth
available to address these pressing issues if Congress is bogged
down in old battles and protracted to-do lists," he wrote.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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