WASHINGTON — Put this in the “small accomplishments” category for Congress: It appears exceedingly unlikely that lawmakers will let the government close down at the end of this week, when a short- term funding measure expires.
Partisan clashes have brought the government to the brink of a shutdown three times in the past year. But this time, appropriators from the House and Senate have been quietly working toward a presentation late today of a compromise spending measure that would outline how government agencies should spend nearly $1 trillion through Sept. 30.
Their work has largely been overshadowed by a bitter fight between Republicans and President Barack Obama over extending a one-year cut in the payroll tax when it lapses at the end of the month.
The payroll-tax fight will continue this week, as the House votes on a GOP-authored proposal that would link the extension of the tax cut sought by Obama with Republican priorities, including a measure to speed the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., predicted that some Democrats who support construction of the 1,700-mile pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast would vote for the Republican bill.
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said the GOP measure is a “partisan joke” that cannot win approval in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Speaking Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., acknowledged that the pipeline was “probably not going to sell.” He predicted Congress would find a way to broker a different bipartisan compromise to extend the tax cut.
Before concluding work for the year, Congress must tackle other major issues as well, including averting a scheduled deep cut in reimbursement rates paid to doctors under Medicare and whether to extend benefits for the unemployed.
Lawmakers had hoped to settle all of the issues and leave town by the end of this week. But members already are preparing for the possibility that continued disputes could force them to remain in session over the weekend and beyond.
