Senators will take a procedural vote Friday on a framework to reopen the federal government and pass full-year spending bills, even as Republicans and Democrats continue to butt heads over how to end the record-long shutdown.
All signs are pointing to Democrats blocking the package Friday. They remain emboldened by the party’s electoral wins earlier in the week, and, despite some progress in bipartisan talks, they appear ready to double down on their demands for health care extensions and federal worker protections.
Whether the Senate clinches a deal over the weekend and cancels next week’s scheduled recess is an open question. Negotiations have shown real signs of progress, but a final compromise remains elusive.
“Democrats are looking for the details,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Thursday evening. “It’s all about premiums, protecting people and then showing that you have serious ideas — not just something you threw at the wall and said, ‘This is going to work.’”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told members of his conference Thursday that he planned to hold a vote on the House-passed funding patch that Democrats have repeatedly opposed.
But this time, he would provide an opportunity to amend the bill with a new expiration date — likely in January — and add on a package of three bipartisan and bicamerally negotiated full-year spending bills, POLITICO reported.
The proposal is close to what many senators have been eyeing as the core components of a deal to reopen the government, but the plan still has major holes that appear likely to render it unsuccessful Friday.
Democrats are still vying for a deal to extend health care subsidies that will expire at the end of the year, and some have signaled that a guarantee of a vote on an extension is not enough.
In addition, Democrats and Republicans have not yet agreed on a new expiration date for the continuing resolution. As currently written, it would fund the government only through Nov. 21, which provides too little time to make significant progress in passing full-year spending bills.
Finally, the three-bill package, known as a minibus, is not yet finished. House and Senate appropriators have been informally negotiating the Agriculture-FDA, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bills for months, but there are still hangups.
“Let’s just say it’s in process. It’s still being worked on,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), chair of the Agriculture, Rural Development and the Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee.
Minibus missing wheels
Senators have not released any details about what is in the nearly finalized spending bills, but they are likely to hew closer to the Senate versions since those advanced out of committee with bipartisan support.
That could mean that the Agriculture bill could potentially increase funding for the Department of Agriculture and maintain funding for agricultural research and farm conservation, despite proposals from House Republicans and the Trump administration to impose cuts.
“These three bills are essential,” said Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), a senior appropriator. “They are SNAP benefits, they are WIC benefits, they are military, VA, veterans affairs. You’ve also got Capitol Police and others that would be in this package.”
Still, the three spending bills remain works in progress. One of the remaining issues is a provision in the Agriculture-FDA bill regarding the regulation of hemp plants. It would eliminate a loophole that allows hemp producers to farm intoxicating plants without being subject to the same rules and taxes as marijuana producers.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is objecting to the provision, effectively blocking the unanimous consent required in the Senate to fast-track a vote on the package. Hoeven said Republicans are still working through that dispute. They have not yet sent a finished product to Democrats to review.
“We have not gotten the proposal from them,” said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We are waiting for that.”
Indeed, despite the optimism this week that talks on reopening the government were moving in the right direction, senators still have a long way to go.
Even with an agreement to proceed to the spending bills, setting up votes on the floor could take multiple procedural roll calls and several days.
“I think we’re at least seven days and more likely 10 and very possibly two weeks away from opening up at best,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters Thursday evening.
Reporters Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney contributed.
