Lawmakers Anticipate Two Week Continuing Resolution to Avert Government Shutdown Over Debt Ceiling

Yes that pesky debt ceiling is a problem again. It should have been addressed in September but we have hurricanes and communities that needed emergency money and all. Now they are re-scheduling Friday's discussion until December 22. Some wanted until the 30th, but others speculated if you carry it over into the new year it will just drag put all of next year. Its good to see they want to deal with it sooner than later, but this is already the second postponement so who knows how it goes.

Defense News
WASHINGTON — With government funding set to expire at the end of Friday, House and Senate leaders are backing a two-week continuing resolution, through Dec. 22, to avert a government shutdown and buy more time to reach a 2018 funding deal.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told reporters that Republicans expect to vote this week to pass a short-term funding bill through Dec. 22 to “give us a little room to talk” about a bipartisan deal to ease statutory budget caps for defense and non-defense.
Though House GOP conservatives are pushing for a Dec. 30 CR, McConnell said, “I don’t think that’s the best way to go forward.”


McConnell is expected to meet Thursday to discuss spending issues with President Donald Trump, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York; House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, told Defense News in an interview Saturday he would support a CR that lasts through Dec. 22 — and nothing further.
“I would not support a CR past Christmas and really this two-week CR is just to give a little more time to negotiate and move this along,” Thornberry said.
“I’m afraid that if you take a continuing resolution into the new year, it will easily slip into a year-long continuing resolution,” Thornberry said. “As hard as it’s been to have it for the first quarter, it would be devastating to have it for the rest of the year.”

Oh brother, please no more reckless car chases at the capitol that ends with a shooting, those seem to happen near a government shutdown every now and then.

Adjusting dangling carrot...

Nothing more. They have to appear to challenge the awful high debt erm-- ceiling first, before raising it anyway.

Now, time to slip in a bunch of BS legislation that "has to pass" or the government will shut down.
I hate when this happens.
It seems like every time they try and pass a budget last minute, a bunch of slime balls church up the bill and slip in absurd things at the last minute, then they pass it, to avoid a shutdown.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Our trusty "representatives" love to keep kicking the can down the road so they don't have to deal with it. Everyone just hopes they can delay, delay, delay until they are out of office and the next folks in office have to take care of it.

This is extremely irresponsible. The pain and fallout will be much worse the more they just keep using bandaids and temporary delays. This is madness!

I dare say that the new tax reform bill overreach might have something to do with it in the long run.

As I got it, they already see the bill as a problem of heavy sequestration to come, and there's a lot of money involved.