The Senate plans to vote this week on a stopgap continuing resolution (CR) that would avoid a looming government shutdown when the new fiscal year 2020 begins Oct. 1, CQ reported Monday.
The CR, which passed the House last week on a veto-proof 301-123 vote, would extend the current FY 2019 defense budget as well as other government spending through Nov. 21 just before the Thanksgiving congressional recess.
A senior White House official indicated the administration’s support for the stopgap measure after the Senate is expected to pass the CR later this week, according to the report.
The CR is needed because none of 12 annual spending bills are likely to become law before Oct. 1, though the Senate plans to move forward with several FY 2020 bills this week.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has started the process of bringing it to the Senate floor, The Hill reported.
The House has passed ten FY 2020 spending bills, but many were approved with higher nondefense spending levels than in the comprehensive budget agreement that was passed just prior to the August congressional recess. The House bills include Democratic priorities that aren’t likely to be considered by the GOP-controlled Senate, according to the report.
The Senate waited until this month to start marking up its spending bills and as yet have not passed any.