GOP 'squabbles' may lead to early adjournment, 'punting' of spending bills

RAW STORYPublished: Monday November 27, 2006

Republican "squabbles" may result in an early adjournment of Congress, with spending bills "punted" to Democrats, according to a Capitol Hill newspaper.

"A squabble among Republicans over spending bills makes it increasingly likely that the House will finish its business by the end of next week, with the Senate shutting down operations soon after," Emily Pierce reports for Roll Call.

"Given that GOP conservatives have prevented their colleagues on the House and Senate Appropriations panels from moving forward with plans to pass the nine remaining spending bills as an omnibus package, Republicans leaders are now expected to punt the issue to next year’s Democratic-led Congress rather than take the time to piece together major spending legislation," the article continues.

According to one senior Senate GOP aide, "It could mean we would adjourn much earlier than most pundits think — certainly well before the Christmas deadline."

Excerpts from article:

Some GOP aides warned that Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) may have made a serious miscalculation when they stopped Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) from sending the military construction spending bill to conference with the House — a maneuver that would have given GOP leaders a vehicle on which to build an omnibus.

“We don’t even have a platform to build anything on. ... So they won the day,” said one senior Senate GOP leadership staffer, who added that Coburn and his allies likely would have a hard time stopping Democrats from having their way next year with the spending bills. “In the end, I don’t think this is something conservatives can win on,” the staffer said.

LinkHere