The House and Senate return to Washington, DC today after a weeklong break for the Thanksgiving holiday. They are expected to be in session for approximately 15 days, giving them limited time to finish work on an several critical pieces of legislation, including an omnibus bill before the current continuing resolution expires on December 11th. But that omnibus is still mired down by issues such as addressing any last-minute funding requests for security after the Paris terrorist attack, resolving disputes on potential policy riders such as the treatment of Syrian refugees, and potentially blocking funding for Planned Parenthood.
All of these issues and others related to EPA regulations and water rights have some DC insiders speculating that lawmakers will miss the December 11th deadline and instead approve another short term CR – possibly running through March 2016 or even the end of the fiscal year on September 30th.
Before the Thanksgiving recess, congressional aides insisted that they would finish the omnibus by December 11th. The next few days may determine whether appropriators can still meet that deadline.
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