WASHINGTON – How the US House and Senate will move two pending defense bills before leaving for the holidays is starting to take shape.
Congress is trying to pass a massive governmentwide spending measure before a Thursday night deadline that includes a $554 billion 2015 Pentagon appropriations bill. And the Senate has begun its usual slow walk toward passing a final defense authorization bill.
Congressional leaders released what’s known as a “cromnibus” spending bill — one part omnibus measure featuring 11 full-year appropriations bills and one part continuing resolution for another bill — late Tuesday.
It will move through the House first, starting with a 3 p.m. Wednesday Rules Committee meeting. The timing of the cromnibus’ release and the Rules hearing seems to set up a Thursday House floor vote.
From there, whether or not a two- or three-day continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown could quickly pass both chambers as the Senate works through procedural hurdles before passing the cromnibus is still in doubt.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., warned members Wednesday morning that clearing those measures and finishing other outstanding work could require the upper chamber to work into the weekend.
“I would note that it seems very likely that we’ll have some votes this weekend,” Reid said. “Everyone should understand that. If we can work a way not to have them, we won’t. But I just want to put everyone on notice.”
Most likely, that would mean a Saturday cromnibus vote.
The defense authorization act is on a trajectory for a Thursday or Friday final Senate approval, which would send it to the president’s desk.
On Tuesday evening, Reid started a process under which there would be 30 hours of floor debate on the defense authorization bill. That clock is set to expire Thursday evening, triggering a vote then on ending debate and a Friday morning vote on final passage.
But both could occur sooner.
Reid called the Pentagon authorization bill a “very important piece of legislation.
“I would hope that senators would understand the quicker we get this done,” the majority leader said, “the sooner we can get to the [cr]omnibus and the tax extenders and other things we have to do before we leave.” ■
Email: jbennett@defensenews.com.
