Senate leader plots endgame for omnibus spending bill
The legislation must be approved by midnight on Friday, when the continuing resolution that has been funding most agencies since October expires.
The Senate will vote Friday morning to cut off debate on a $410 billion omnibus appropriations bill, as Democratic leaders ratchet up the pressure for its passage.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Wednesday filed for cloture on the bill, saying it was the only way to meet a deadline of midnight Friday when the continuing resolution funding government programs covered by the nine fiscal 2009 appropriations bills wrapped into the omnibus expires.
"I think the time has come to bring [debate] to a close," he said.
Reid held out the possibility the Senate could hold a final vote on the package on Thursday, but it is unlikely Republicans would agree to that.
He said that in a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Tuesday, she warned the Senate against changing the package and that she would move to extend the current CR through the end of the fiscal year, rather than hold a vote on a Senate-amended omnibus.
"She said, 'we have put our members through a lot on this appropriations bill; I am not going to put them through any more. If there are any amendments to this we are going to do a CR for the rest of the year'," Reid said Pelosi told him.
The House passed the omnibus last week but would have to approve it again if any changes are made to it before sending it to President Obama.
With some moderate Democrats wavering on whether they will support passage, party leaders are whipping hard to assure the bill is approved, senators and aides said. "It's fair to say there's an extraordinary amount of pressure on this particular bill," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who said she has not decided how she will vote.
Wednesday, Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., said they will oppose final passage. Other Democrats, including Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., have said they are not sure how they will vote.
At least five Republicans, most of them appropriators, have voted with Democrats against amendments altering the bill and are likely to support final passage.
Though Democrats remain confident they will get 60 votes, the wavering among moderates suggests Obama and Reid could face a challenge lining up Democratic backing for big-ticket spending items on tap for later this year. A group of 14 Democratic senators met Tuesday to discuss concerns with Obama's $3.55 trillion fiscal 2010 budget, participants said.