Senate Dems want to clear decks for Hillary Clinton
Greg Nash/The Hill
By Alexander Bolton - 09/01/16 01:28 PM EDT
Senate Democrats on Thursday ruled out the possibility that they would agree to a long-term spending measure, saying they will not let talks spill over into the new president’s term.
“Everyone should be alerted today that we’re not going to be doing a long-term CR,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) told reporters on a conference call, referring to a continuing resolution to fund government beyond the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
Reid’s comments reflect Democratic confidence that Hillary Clinton will be elected president. Clinton is leading Republican Donald Trump in polls, and Democrats want to give her a clean start as president so that she does not have to negotiate funding for the federal government in her first 100 days in office.
President Obama made clear during a private meeting Wednesday that he would not sign a long-term stopgap measure that freezes current funding levels into next year, Reid said.
Congress must approve a new spending measure before Oct. 1 to prevent the government from shutting down.
When Congress returns next week, negotiating a measure will be the top order of business.
It’s likely that Congress will agree to a spending bill that runs into December, which would force lawmakers to approve either an omnibus spending bill or another short-term measure in a lame-duck session.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus want to pass a funding stopgap that lasts until next year because they want to avoid voting on a massive omnibus spending deal in the lame duck.
“No good decisions ever get made right before Christmas,” Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), one of the group’s leaders, told The Hill last week.
Meadows and other conservatives hope Trump will surprise political handicappers and defeat Clinton. They want to give him a chance to negotiate lower spending levels shortly after he takes office, if he does.
There’s speculation that Reid and other Democratic leaders may try to use the stopgap spending measure or a year-end omnibus appropriations package to allocate new money to fight the Zika virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has nearly depleted its Zika budget.
Reid, however, declined to comment on his strategy.
“It’s a little hard to negotiate here, with each of you. We’ll have to see what they give us. They’re the ones who must move forward first,” he said of House Republicans.
Spending bills are required by the Constitution to originate in the House.
The Senate is scheduled to vote next week on a Republican bill allocating $1.1 billion in Zika funds but Democrats are vowing to block it because they believe it would not allow money to go to Planned Parenthood.
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