Appropriations

Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) scheduled a cloture vote on the continued spending resolution for Wednesday morning.

Around 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday the Senate will hold three votes to advance the Senate continued spending resolution, negotiated by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and ranking member Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), which sets the same spending levels as a government funding measure approved by the House earlier this month. 

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rogers said it's “likely” that the full House will take up the Senate CR without changes.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was blocked Tuesday from starting consideration of the Senate budget resolution.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) blocked Reid’s motion to start the required 50 hours of debate on the budget. Moran also stopped Reid from scheduling a final vote on the continued spending resolution for later Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would file a motion to allow the Senate to start the 50-hour clock on consideration of the budget resolution while it also finishes work on the continued spending resolution that funds the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.

“I’m going to very shortly move to begin work on the budget,” Reid said on the Senate floor Tuesday morning. “There is no reason that 30 hours post cloture be wasted. … We shouldn’t waste our time as we’ve done so often, we should start the budget.”

The Senate failed to reach an agreement Monday on further amendments to the continued spending resolution that would prevent a government shut down by funding federal spending through the fiscal year.

Despite some GOP opposition, the Senate voted 63-35 on a motion to end debate on the bill after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said a few senators would not agree to let the bill move forward without votes on their amendments. The vote showed there is enough support for final passage of the bill, expected later this week.

“Everyone has to look at this from way up high and realize how much has been accomplished in a week,” Reid said. “People have requested further changes to the bill and we’ve tried hard.”

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday criticized the Senate's version of a continuing spending bill for funding “junk” and prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from saving money.

“Here we are spending money on this kind of junk — this pork,” McCain said on the Senate floor Monday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) warned senators Monday that if they didn’t complete work on the continued spending resolution to fund to government for the remainder of the fiscal year, that votes on the budget resolution could creep into their Easter recess.

“This will be a very full week,” Reid said on the Senate floor Monday. “Senators should expect several long nights and late votes. And we will stay as long as it takes to complete work on both the continuing resolution and the budget resolution — even if that means working into the weekend and the Easter/Passover recess."

Both chambers of Congress are back to work this week as budget and spending battles continue.

Budgets pushed by both parties will hit House and Senate floors this week. Republicans will look to advance Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) plan, while Democrats mount support for a competing version from Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). Both measures are expected to pass, but it remains to be seen how many party defections will take place. The Hill is tracking votes for both budgets here.

Meanwhile, the Senate will continue looking for a way forward on a continuing resolution to keep the government operating beyond March 27. The top Democrat and Republican on the Appropriations panel had struck a deal on a spending package, but the measure was bogged down by amendments on the floor last week, pushing work on it into Monday at least.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) gave up on his goal of completing a bill to fund the government through the fiscal year by the end of this week.

“We're going to move forward with this bill on Monday,” Reid announced on the Senate floor Thursday evening. "That's it for tonight."

Sens. McCain and Coburn had blocked the bill Tuesday, saying they needed more time to review the measure.