Spending bill to avert shutdown is blocked in Senate, but compromise is likely by week’s end
Reporting from Washington — Faced with a week’s-end deadline to keep government funds flowing, the Senate on Tuesday blocked a stopgap spending measure amid partisan fighting over aid to victims of the Flint, Mich., water crisis.
But both sides predicted a government shutdown was unlikely, and final passage was still expected by Friday, when funding for government operations is set to expire.
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Lawmakers are tangling because the Republican-crafted package includes money for Louisiana flood victims, but not the Flint water crisis, leaving many Democrats to reject it. Some Republicans also voted no, opposed to spending levels they said were too high and other objections.
The measure, which includes more than $1 billion to fight the Zika virus, would extend government funding until Dec. 9, guaranteeing another spending battle during the lame-duck session of Congress after the presidential election.
The first vote Tuesday was 45-55, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. A subsequent vote similarly failed.
Leaders on both sides did not appear discouraged by the stalemate.
“We’re not shutting the government down,†said Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the minority leader. “We’re going to finish this.â€
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The funding bill is among the last items of business before Congress recesses for the November election.
Overall funding levels already had been agreed to under previous budget deals. But lawmakers now are arguing over the allocation of emergency money as well as new provisions, including one that would enable the Export-Import Bank to continue making loans even though its board does not have a quorum.
Opponents of the bank, which offers low-interest loans to U.S. companies that export abroad, call it corporate welfare and are trying to block its operation. Because the Senate has failed to confirm new board members, supporters, including the White House, want to allow the bank’s board to be allowed to function with fewer members. The provision was not included.
Another sticking point was a push to include a provision to halt plans for turning over federal governance of Internet domains to a nonprofit agency.
Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) proposal to delay the transfer to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers also was excluded from the stopgap funding package. While Cruz had been the leader in a 2013 showdown that resulted in shutting down the government for 16 days, it does not appear that the Texas senator is angling for a similar shutdown fight over the Internet provision, which has been supported by GOP nominee Donald Trump.
The primary hang-up is the Republican refusal to include funding for the water crisis in Flint, where contaminated lead pipes have left the water undrinkable.
Democrats say it’s not fair to provide emergency funds for Louisiana flood victims, but not money for Flint. A $300-million package for Flint was approved by the Senate in a separate water-resources bill but has stalled in the House.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell floated an alternative proposal that would remove the Louisiana money for now, allowing talks on both the emergency funding for Flint and flood victims to continue.
Twitter: @LisaMascaro
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