House passes FY 2018 omnibus appropriations bill – This afternoon the House quickly passed the package of 12 appropriations bills funding all government operations through the end of fiscal year 2018, which is just six months away on September 30. The bill passed the House easily, by a vote of 256-167. It now goes to the Senate, where the process could be much slower. However, there is a reason to hurry: government funding expires at midnight tomorrow, and many Members of Congress are planning to fly to Rochester, NY, tomorrow for the funeral of Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY). To pass the bill by tomorrow afternoon, Senators will have to provide unanimous consent to proceed, but any Senator could object, meaning the debate time would continue. We’ll see what happens!
Via CEF:
> House passes FY 2018 omnibus appropriations bill – This afternoon the House quickly passed the package of 12 appropriations bills funding all government operations through the end of fiscal year 2018, which is just six months away on September 30. The bill passed the House easily, by a vote of 256-167. It now goes to the Senate, where the process could be much slower. However, there is a reason to hurry: government funding expires at midnight tomorrow, and many Members of Congress are planning to fly to Rochester, NY, tomorrow for the funeral of Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY). To pass the bill by tomorrow afternoon, Senators will have to provide unanimous consent to proceed, but any Senator could object, meaning the debate time would continue. We’ll see what happens!
The Senator most likely to hold things up is Sen. Paul. See:
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/379639-with-shutdown-nearing-focus-turns-to-rand-paul <http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/379639-with-shutdown-nearing-focus-turns-to-rand-paul>
Jeff
