WASHINGTON -Congressional leaders are trying to avoid a government shutdown with less than four days left to go before funding runs out.
The two parties don't agree on how long it will take to push the deadline, which is one of the main obstacles that the lawmakers have to deal with.
The lawmakers have until the end of Friday to come up with a solution. Non-essential government services will cease operations without a bill signed by President Joe Biden.
The Democrats are working on a short-term bill to keep federal funding in January, according to aides and lawmakers.
It'll likely be late January, said Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who said he doesn't want to go beyond that because it could cause complacency about negotiating a larger deal.
But Republicans want to push it to later, and they have the power to filibuster the bill in the Senate.
"I'd rather go to February or March right now," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee. Shelby is confident that lawmakers will work out an agreement.
He said he doesn't think it'll shut down.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that Democrats plan to act quickly, with the House likely to go first.
As soon as tomorrow, the House is expected to take action to pass a CR continuing resolution that will fund the government into next year. He said in a floor speech that Senate Democrats are ready to pass the legislation, get it done as quickly as possible to avoid a needless shutdown. If Republicans choose to block the election, there will be a shutdown because of their own dysfunction. When lawmakers can't agree on a spending bill, they usually pass short-term legislation to keep spending at the same level, which means no changes to programs.
Congress took a route earlier this year, hoping that it would give them time to negotiate a spending bill that allows them to adjust spending levels.
Democrats are eager to strike that deal, with some complaining that the government is still operating at spending levels agreed to in the Trump administration. The Democrats are not willing to force a government shutdown over it.
Leahy said that the sticking point is toplines, or reaching an agreement with Republicans on how much money the federal government should spend next year.
The Vermont Democrat said part of the problem is that Republicans may not want to reach a deal because they prefer to keep funding at Trump-era levels.
He said that there are others who realize they're not going to get the things they want.
The House will need to move quickly to get a bill passed by the Senate. The process could be slowed if a senator objects and drags out the process beyond the deadline.
In 2018, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., single-handedly forced a brief shutdown by objecting to a speedy vote on a spending agreement.
The Senate is still trying to wrap up the National Defense Authorization Act. The bill was stalled on Monday as Republicans demanded more time for debate and amendments.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said that as long as Democrats don't try to jam contentious add-ons into the short-term spending bill, he thinks lawmakers will reach an agreement.
As long as we don't let the CR be the Grinch that steals Christmas, that's a good thing.