Sept. 23, 2011, 10:34 a.m. EDT
Government shutdown threat looms larger
Senate leaders plan to reject House funding bill, offer alternative
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A government shutdown looms in just a week as the Democratic-led Senate prepares to reject a House-passed funding bill on Friday.
In an after-midnight vote, the House approved a bill to fund the government through Nov. 18, after Republican leaders convinced conservatives to vote for the spending measure they’d previously rejected.
Democrats said it doesn’t have enough disaster relief aid as the bill passed on a 219-203 vote.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where a say they’ll vote it down and offer an alternate measure. “[The bill] fails to provide the relief that our fellow Americans need as they struggle to rebuild their lives in the wake of floods, wildfires and hurricanes, and it will be rejected by the Senate,” said Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who’s majority leader.
The standoff comes just a week before the end of the current fiscal year, Sept. 30. Both the House and Senate are scheduled to be out on a week-long vacation beginning Monday, but the impasse makes the lawmakers’ break uncertain.
The bill passed the House after Republican leaders killed a $100 million loan for Solyndra, a now-bankrupt solar-panel maker under scrutiny for its ties to the White House.
Government shutdown threat looms larger
Senate leaders plan to reject House funding bill, offer alternative
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A government shutdown looms in just a week as the Democratic-led Senate prepares to reject a House-passed funding bill on Friday.
In an after-midnight vote, the House approved a bill to fund the government through Nov. 18, after Republican leaders convinced conservatives to vote for the spending measure they’d previously rejected.
Democrats said it doesn’t have enough disaster relief aid as the bill passed on a 219-203 vote.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where a say they’ll vote it down and offer an alternate measure. “[The bill] fails to provide the relief that our fellow Americans need as they struggle to rebuild their lives in the wake of floods, wildfires and hurricanes, and it will be rejected by the Senate,” said Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who’s majority leader.
The standoff comes just a week before the end of the current fiscal year, Sept. 30. Both the House and Senate are scheduled to be out on a week-long vacation beginning Monday, but the impasse makes the lawmakers’ break uncertain.
The bill passed the House after Republican leaders killed a $100 million loan for Solyndra, a now-bankrupt solar-panel maker under scrutiny for its ties to the White House.