Lawmakers have until Friday to pass a spending bill to keep the federal government running.
Republicans and Democrats are reportedly around $26 billion apart in their negotiations.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is already proposing a stop-gap one-week spending bill to give negotiators more time.
A vote to fund the government for one week gives negotiators more time, but also pushes back the deadline to Dec. 23, giving lawmakers more incentive to compromise as they face the prospect of being in Washington for the holidays.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said any final agreement needs to fund defense at the level written into a defense policy bill that passed the House last week, about $858 billion, and “without lavishing extra funding” beyond what President Joe Biden has requested on domestic programs.
“Our Democratic colleagues have already spent two years massively, massively increasing domestic spending, using party-line reconciliation bills outside the normal appropriations process,” McConnell said. “So, clearly our colleagues cannot now demand even more, more domestic spending than President Biden even requested in exchange for funding the United States military.”
The two parties have negotiated for months over the so-called omnibus bill. The measure sets budget totals for the federal government for the 2023 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration believes there is sufficient time for Congress to pass a funding measure. But she added, “If they need extra days to get there, so be it.”
Lawmakers are hoping to attach an array of other priorities to the spending bill, including the Biden administration’s request for an additional $37 billion in Ukraine aid, something that Senate leaders in both parties say is necessary as that country defends itself against Russia.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN