With about two weeks left before a potential government shutdown, lawmakers left for the weekend with little to no progress on spending talks. Here’s the latest:
- For the second time this week, House Republican leaders were forced to pull the defense appropriations bill from the floor because some conservatives were against the procedural rule related to it. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee, said the plan is to try again next week. “We’ll just work out our differences and bring it to the floor,” he said, according to Punchbowl News.
- A group of House Republicans – three from the conservative House Freedom Caucus and three from the moderate Main Street Republican Partnership – have begun drafting a continuing resolution, as Roll Call But they’re also adding border security language that the Senate is unlikely to accept.
- Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), a member of the Appropriations Committee, said some members don’t understand the impact of a shutdown. “It seems like you always get some new people in that have got to touch the stove, which is kind of what is happening here,” Simpson said, according Punchbowl News. “There are people who say the government could shut down and no one would notice. Really?”
- The Senate spent the week trying to move a package of three spending bills to build momentum, but that stopped Thursday night when Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) objected and insisted the bills should be considered separately.
Navy photo of Rep. Calvert by Neil Mabini
