US Congress to pass stopgap funds until Feb. 15
Source: Reuters
By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Lawmakers were poised to pass legislation on Friday to keep the U.S. government running through Feb. 15 after the outgoing Republican-led Congress failed to approve a series of regular spending bills. The House of Representatives and Senate were expected to easily approve the measure before a midnight deadline as one of the last acts of the 109th Congress. Without the legislation, government programs ranging from farm subsidies and veterans benefits to foreign aid could have come to a halt this weekend. The House vote would provide relief for NASA workers, some of whom could have faced immediate layoff. NASA spokesman Grey Hautaloma said a government shutdown would not have affected essential personnel for Saturday's scheduled space shuttle launch in Florida. "The poor astronauts are not going to be stranded in space," he said. But other programs could suffer as the temporary funding either freezes spending at last year's levels or makes reductions. That formula thwarts efforts by many lawmakers to reverse program cuts for the poor this year. Overall, the programs still in need of funding through the end of September would cost the government about $460 billion. The stopgap bill shifts around some Veterans' Administration accounts so that $1.7 billion in added funds are available for veterans' health care programs stretched thin by injured soldiers returning from the Iraq war. But decisions on most domestic funding for the current year will be left with Democrats, who take control of Congress in January. "They are dumping into our laps the responsibility to clean up their mess," said Rep. David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who will become House Appropriations Committee chairman. A messy end-of-session floor fight was avoided, however, when Republicans agreed to Democrats' demand for putting off until mid-February a $2,800 pay raise members of Congress were scheduled to receive on Jan. 1. For most of this year, Democrats argued lawmakers' salaries should not be a penny higher until the U.S. minimum wage, stuck at $5.15 for the past decade, is raised. Democrats promised to approve the hike for low-wage workers early next year. The House vote on stopgap spending came after nine of the 11 appropriations bills for the fiscal year that began in October stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate. The only two fiscal 2007 spending bills enacted, which together amount to nearly $500 billion, fund the military and domestic security programs. Obey said this Congress' failure to finish fiscal 2007 appropriations was "muddying the waters" for consideration of President George W. Bush's fiscal 2008 budget proposal, which is expected to be sent to Capitol Hill early next year.
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