Lawmakers on Capitol Hill had to pass another stopgap funding measure before Thanksgiving, but had one measure of budget success as they passed a “minibus” bill to fund several Cabinet departments and agencies.
Now Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will try a similar approach but on a bigger scale. Reid plans to bring forward a $1 trillion “omnibus” bill in December, according to a report from The Hill newspaper.
If the omnibus does not go through, another stopgap measure will be needed to keep the federal government running past Dec. 17, when federal funds run out.
“We hope to work this process through so we won’t do a (continuing resolution),†Reid said according to The Hill. “We have already passed a number of appropriations bills. We would put all the others into one package and try to get them done.â€
Since the fall of last year, the government has operated on CRs and members of both the Senate and House Appropriations Committees want to pass regular spending bills instead. Lawmakers have more oversight over regular spending bills, including the ability to change policy and adjust federal accounts.
Reid said appropriators have done too much work on this spending bill for Congress to simply go back to another CR, The Hill reported.
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