Hill extends temporary funding, OKs a vacation
Congress on Thursday pushed a government shutdown back another three weeks then approved taking a vacation next week, leaving the hard work of striking a long-term deal for another day. The Senate voted 87-13 to pass the three-week spending extension, sending the bill to President Obama for his signature, which must come before midnight Friday to avert a government shutdown. Hours later, the Senate agreed to adjourn for 10 days, following the lead of the House, which already had approved closing up shop through March 29. Just before adjourning, the House voted 228-192 to end federal taxpayer funding for NPR, gucci outlet though that measure is unlikely to see action in the Senate. The spending fights on Capitol Hill are growing more testy, and all sides said Thursday’s short-term extension should be the last one. It will mean the government has run for more than half of the fiscal year on stopgap funding, which ties agencies’ hands. “Today’s vote starts the clock again,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, who said the three weeks should put pressure on both sides to negotiate a compromise. The three-week spending bill cuts $4.6 billion from 2010 spending levels and rescinds another $1.4 billion in unused money from previous years, leading to $6 billion in total savings. Nine Republicans, three Democrats and one independent voted against the bill, with the GOP members arguing it doesn’t cut deeply enough and the Democrats saying it goes too far. Some senators grumbled about their upcoming vacation, saying they should stay and negotiate, but nobody objected. In the House, though, the vote was contentious - nearly all Democrats and a handful of Republicans voted against the move, but the Republican majority prevailed on a 232-197 vote earlier this week.