U.S. Congress to press ahead on stopgap government funding bill
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[September 27, 2022]
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate will
take an initial vote on a stopgap spending measure on Tuesday to keep
federal agencies running past the end of this week, while Congress
continues to negotiate bills to fund the government through the next
fiscal year.
President Joe Biden's Democrats control both chambers of Congress and
are expected to avoid an embarrassing partial government shutdown just
six weeks before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when control of Congress
will be at stake.
The bill also includes more than $7 billion in funding to help Ukraine
turn back Russia's invasion, according to a summary released Tuesday
morning.
In early September, Biden requested $11.7 billion in military and
economic aid.
Congress has resorted to this kind of last-minute temporary spending
bill in 43 out of the past 46 years due to its failure to approve
full-year appropriations in time for the Oct. 1 start of a fiscal year,
according to a government study.
A Tuesday evening Senate procedural vote is designed to speed action
once Democrats and Republicans put the finishing touches on legislation.
MANCHIN'S PERMITTING BILL A BARRIER
The first vote's outcome was unclear because of a fight over an add-on
by Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, a key swing vote who pressed to
include an unrelated measure to speed up the government's permitting
process for energy projects.
The proposed legislation includes permitting reform provisions and
directs $250 million from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act to
"improve and accelerate reviews for designated projects."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his fellow Republicans to
vote against the temporary funding bill because of the Manchin
provision, Politico reported. A McConnell aide had no immediate comment.
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The U.S. Capitol Building is lit at
sunset in Washington, U.S., December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua
Roberts/File Photo
Some Democrats and environmentalists also are opposed, fearing it
would spark more development of fossil fuel projects at a time when
the effects of climate change from carbon emissions are
accelerating.
Republicans have been angry at Manchin since he helped Democrats
pass a bill this summer addressing climate change and lowering some
healthcare costs.
SPENDING BILL STILL EXPECTED TO PASS
Even if Tuesday's procedural vote fails, House and Senate leaders
are expected to switch gears to promptly pass the spending bill by
their Friday midnight deadline.
That is when government agencies run out of money with Saturday's
start of a new fiscal year.
Also included is a five-year renewal of Food and Drug Administration
user fees being collected from drug and medical device companies to
review their products and determine whether they are safe and
effective, the bill summary showed.
The law authorizing the collection of fees expires on Friday.
The last time Congress allowed funding to lapse was in December
2018, when Democrats balked at paying for then-President Donald
Trump's U.S.-Mexico border wall. Following a record, 35-day impasse,
Trump found ways to partially circumvent Congress, but the wall
never was completed.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Ahmed
Aboulenein; Editing by Scott Malone and Josie Kao)
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