Samuel Case, FISM News
U.S. Senators are conducting a procedural vote Tuesday for a stopgap spending bill to keep federal agencies funded past this Friday, when existing funding will expire at midnight, marking the start of a new fiscal year. The bill would keep the government funded through Dec. 16.
Last-minute temporary funding bills are common in place in Congress, having resorted to stopgap spending in 43 out of the past 46 years.
Beyond keeping the federal government afloat, the bill is expected to include at least $12 billion in aid for Ukraine and, at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s request (D-N.Y.), $290 million to combat “rainbow” fentanyl.
Politico reports the bill may also include: “$1 billion in heating assistance for low-income families, $20 million to help address the water crisis in Jackson, Miss., more than $112 million for federal court security, and billions of dollars in other disaster aid.”
The bill may hit a snag in the form of an add-on by Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), who is seeking to tie the measure with legislation to speed up the government’s permitting process for energy projects.
A growing number of Republicans in the Senate say they won’t support Joe Manchin’s permitting reform bill for energy provisions because it doesn’t go far enough, FISM News previously reported. More progressive Democrats, meanwhile, oppose the legislation for its focus on starting new non-green energy projects.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is now telling GOP senators to vote against the bill over Manchin’s permit measure, according to Politico. McConnell previously said he would support a “clean” funding measure.