New GOP Bill: $6B More Cuts
The Hill reports:
House Republicans on Friday will release a three-week measure to keep the government operating that would cut another $6 billion in spending this year.
The House proposal should come to a vote Tuesday, and could target additional earmarked funds.
Moving a short-term measure to fund the government appears unavoidable, as negotiations among House Republicans, Senate Democrats and the White House on a longer-term measure are at a stalemate.
The current measure funding the government expires after March 18, and if Congress does not approve a new measure, the government would shut down.
Republicans have not revealed the precise cuts in the new short-term continuing resolution, but Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said the GOP is looking at earmarks.
The House and Senate have agreed to ban earmarks temporarily, and it would be hard for Senate Democrats to defeat a short-term spending bill that finds most or all of its savings from past earmarks embedded in the current funding level.
About $10 billion in earmarks were included in the 2010 appropriations bills, according to Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense. Since funding for 2011 is basically an extension of that funding, this gives House Republicans plenty of targets. The two-week continuing resolution approved last month cut $2.7 billion in earmarked funding.
If approved, the three-week extension would cover two work weeks and one week of House recess.
It’s unclear whether the new bill will include policy riders that will be difficult for Senate Democrats to accept.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said that he “hopes” the bill will not contain language de-funding public broadcasting or Planned Parenthood, which were included in a House-approved bill to fund the government through the rest of the fiscal year.
“This is simply an extension to give negotiators more time,” he said.
Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry (R) also said that the short-term continuing resolution should not ?include politically divisive policy riders, as this would give the Senate a reason to oppose it on ideological grounds.
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