Democrats scramble to figure out shutdown strategy
By Jordain Carney - 11/17/21 06:02 AM EST
Democrats are trying to lock down their strategy for a looming government shutdown fight, as they debate punting into early 2022 or setting up another deadline closer to Christmas.
Congress has until the end of Dec. 3 to pass another government funding bill after using a short-term patch, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to get them past the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal 2022 funding year.
No decisions have been made on how long to extend government funding after the early December deadline, and there are competing schools of thought within House and Senate Democrats about what their next step should be.
One option under discussion is to pass a two-week CR, which would extend current spending levels, to fund the government through roughly Dec. 17. But a source told The Hill that top Democrats are supporting a funding bill that would last until February or March.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) acknowledged that Democrats were debating passing a stopgap bill that would last until mid-December or going “longer.”
“I’d like to keep the pressure on. On the other hand, there’s a lot going on,” said Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/581854-democrats-scramble-to-figure-out-shutdown-strategy