Consensus builds for 'minibuses' to tackle spending in lame duck

摘要

House Republicans are increasingly getting behind a plan that would allow Congress to wrap up its fiscal 2017 spending bills in a post-election, lame-duck session. House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said this morning consensus is building for the House to pass stopgap legislation this month that would fund the government at current levels through mid-December. He said the House would then pass a series of bills, known as minibuses, each containing three or four of the annual appropriations bills, in the lame-duck session, with a goal of having all 12 of the annual spending bills becoming law. "There is a realization within the Congress that an omnibus is likely out of the question," said Rogers. "The idea is to do a few minibuses that are bite-size appropriations bills that we can digest."