Storm brewing: Schumer and McConnell urge passage of omnibus using approaching massive winter storm as excuse for quick passage
Senate leadership took to the floor Tuesday to urge the quick passage of a $1.7 trillion spending bill with just days remaining to avoid a government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will set up a procedural vote on the omnibus as soon as Tuesday afternoon after lawmakers unveiled the 4,155-page bill in the early morning hours. The biggest question is whether one of the conservative senators opposed to the sweeping legislation will throw up legislative roadblocks, slowing the chamber’s ability to send the bill over to the House. The time frame was already tight — lawmakers only have until Friday at midnight to pass the legislation — and an approaching winter storm dubbed a bomb cyclone is threatening to derail their plans to leave town for the Christmas recess.
“We must finish passing this omnibus before the deadline on Friday, when government funding runs out. But we hope to do it much sooner than that because we are mindful that a nor’easter is barreling down the East Coast on Thursday and Friday,” Schumer said.
Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) told CNN on Tuesday that the bill could pass the Senate as soon as Wednesday and that the coming bomb cyclone adds a “sense of urgency.” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the top Republican appropriator in the Senate, told reporters it would be difficult to pass the bill by Thursday.
Schumer touted the bill’s inclusion of the Electoral Count Reform Act, a bipartisan measure designed to avoid another Jan. 6-style attack on the Capitol, as well as $45 billion in Ukraine aid.
He said the legislation was “overflowing with very good news for our troops,” a sentiment echoed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who presented the vote as a binary choice: Give service members the resources they need or vote “no” and cause “confusion and uncertainty” for the military. The bill includes $858 billion in defense spending.
“Between the two options before us, this is not a close call,” he said Tuesday. “The Senate should pass this bill.” McConnell is facing pressure to change course on the omnibus, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) vowing to oppose his agenda next year if McConnell votes “yes.” McCarthy, who is vying to become speaker, is courting hard-line members of his caucus, who want to punt a larger funding bill until early next year, when Republicans take a four-seat majority in the House. McConnell has given no indication he plans to withdraw his support. Asked about McCarthy’s demand, Shelby told reporters on Tuesday, “If I were in his shoes, I'd be focused on trying to get to be speaker, and that's — whatever it took.” “To a point,” he added.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/schumer-urges-passage-1-7-trillion-omnibus-winter-storm