Top negotiators are closing in on a massive government funding agreement — one of the final items on Congress's to-do list before it wraps for the year.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby
Richard Craig ShelbyVeterans healthcare fight snagging government funding deal Senate squabbling sparks shutdown threat Overnight Defense: Biden defends picking retired general for Pentagon head | House passes weeklong stopgap spending bill | Senate rejects effort to block Trump's UAE arms sale MORE (R-Ala.) on Friday described himself as optimistic about the chances of getting a deal before next week's deadline.
"We're real close," Shelby said about an omnibus deal.
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Though a deal Friday is unlikely, Shelby said negotiators "could" get an agreement over the weekend — a breakthrough that would pave the way for votes in the House as soon as early next week.
With Congress passing a one-week continuing resolution (CR) earlier in the day, lawmakers now have until Dec. 18 to either pass a mammoth omnibus, which would fund the government through Sept. 30, or kick the can down the road with another CR.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellOVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Biden taps ex-Obama chief for VA | Shutdown looms amid standoff | SCOTUS rules on rape cases in military Sanders, Hawley team up to demand vote on second round of stimulus checks Bette Middler blasts McConnell: 'How did he win with an 18% approval rating?' MORE (R-Ky.) tipped his hand at the behind-the-scenes work on a year-end deal shortly before the Senate passed the stopgap bill Friday.
"We ought to pass a full-year funding measure, and I hope our committees in the Senate and the House can complete their work and deliver legislation next week," McConnell said.
He added as he left the Capitol for the week that he was "hopeful" that lawmakers would be able to get across the finish line with the omnibus.
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiVeterans healthcare fight snagging government funding deal Pelosi warns of 'danger' as Republicans supportive of QAnon poised to join Congress Hawley introduces bill for second round of stimulus checks MORE (D-Calif.) told reporters on Thursday that a government funding deal was "close," adding that "there's still some concerns, but that's the way it always goes."
The roughly $1.4 trillion funding deal would include all 12 fiscal 2021 bills, after Congress needed to use two CRs to keep the government open past Oct. 1, 2020 — the start of the new fiscal year.
Negotiators have had to wade through perennial sticking points, including working out a deal funding for the border and the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention beds.
Asked about funding for the border, Shelby indicated that they were going with roughly $2 billion — the same amount in the Senate's funding bills. He stopped short of saying all sides were "satisfied."
"The wall fund is about where we were — status quo," he said.
The biggest sticking point for the talks has been trying to figure out how to cover $12.5 billion for a Veterans Affairs health care program that provides more access to private doctors.
Senate Republicans and House Democrats have indicated they would be supportive of making the money "emergency" funding, meaning it doesn't have to be counted under spending caps as part of a two-year budget deal. But that idea has received pushback from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthyVeterans healthcare fight snagging government funding deal More than 100 House Republicans sign brief backing Texas lawsuit challenging election results Pelosi warns of 'danger' as Republicans supportive of QAnon poised to join Congress MORE (R-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
Steven MnuchinVeterans healthcare fight snagging government funding deal On The Money: Millions of Americans in poverty as Black, Native American wages stagnate | Jobless claims jump to 853K | Economists warn against excluding state aid from COVID-19 relief Mnuchin faces heat over coronavirus rescue loan to trucking company MORE.
"I think it's going to work out, but it hasn't yet," Shelby said. "I think that's the big obstacle, barring something parachuting in."
Shelby added that if they could resolve the Veterans Affairs fight, "I think we could see open field."
Sen. John Thune
John Randolph ThuneOVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Biden taps ex-Obama chief for VA | Shutdown looms amid standoff | SCOTUS rules on rape cases in military Sanders, Hawley team up to demand vote on second round of stimulus checks On The Money: Millions of Americans in poverty as Black, Native American wages stagnate | Jobless claims jump to 853K | Economists warn against excluding state aid from COVID-19 relief MORE (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, indicated on Friday as he left the Capitol that negotiators were making progress.
"I think the appropriations language is coming together. And if they could get an agreement about how to handle the, you know, the veterans piece of that, and it sounds like they may be there," Thune said.
Even if negotiators get a deal on government funding itself, they'll still need to figure out what, if anything, can be added in terms of coronavirus relief.
Leadership is looking at including some components in the omnibus bill after struggling for weeks to reach an agreement on a sweeping year-end deal. Meanwhile, Sens. Bernie Sanders
Bernie SandersFederal government executes Brandon Bernard despite last-minute appeals Sanders, Hawley team up to demand vote on second round of stimulus checks On The Money: Millions of Americans in poverty as Black, Native American wages stagnate | Jobless claims jump to 853K | Economists warn against excluding state aid from COVID-19 relief MORE (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley
Joshua (Josh) David HawleySanders, Hawley team up to demand vote on second round of stimulus checks On The Money: Millions of Americans in poverty as Black, Native American wages stagnate | Jobless claims jump to 853K | Economists warn against excluding state aid from COVID-19 relief MasterCard, Visa to stop allowing their cards to be used on Pornhub MORE (R-Mo.) are threatening to use any mammoth deal as leverage to get a vote on their proposal for a second round of stimulus checks.
"I am prepared to withdraw my objection at this moment, but I will not be prepared to withdraw an objection next week," Sanders warned on the Senate floor Friday.
Asked about how realistic it is that he'll be able to force a vote, Sanders said "comfortable," adding that the "alternative is we're going to spend Christmas here."
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