Senate

GOP senators slam House for funding bill decision

by Jordain Carney - 11/17/16 3:26 PM ET

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday slammed a House-backed plan to pass a short-term spending bill, arguing it would hurt the military.

“Put simply, this cockamamie idea, this abrogation of our responsibilities called a continuing resolution would shortchange American troops,” he said from the Senate floor. “We’re just going to kick the can down the road for another three months or more.”

{mosads}He added a short-term spending bill would “cut resources” for troops, “hamper” the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and go against the theme of the elections.

“Fresh off an election where the American people were clear that they are fed up with business as usual, that’s exactly what we’re about to get if Congress adopts another continuing resolution,” he said.

McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told reporters after his speech that a short-term spending bill would be a “disgrace.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, called a continuing resolution (CR) the “lazy way” to fund the government.

“We can finish our work [on appropriations bills] by mid-December,” he said. “I think it’s a mistake for the Trump administration because I think that President-elect Trump should want to focus his attention ahead.”

House Republicans decided during a closed-door meeting on Thursday to back a short-term continuing resolution through March 31 rather than a full-year omnibus spending bill.

Senate GOP leadership hasn’t formally signed onto the plan. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that there are ongoing discussions about how to fund the government ahead of Dec. 9 deadline, but didn’t go into details.

Asked about the reports of a three-month CR, John Cornyn (Texas), the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, deferred to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), adding “whatever the House can pass, we’ll pass over here.”

Senate Democrats and the White House have publicly signaled that they would prefer a long-term bill that runs through the end of the fiscal year.

Asked about reports that Trump prefers a short-term CR, Sen. Barbara Milkulski (D-Md.) told reporters on Wednesday that “he can propose, but you know, remember what the founding fathers said: We have the power of the purse.”

Asked if Democrats would oppose a short-term bill, she bristled and said: “I’m not going to negotiate in a hallway.”

Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday separately pointed to the House as the starting point for a funding bill.

“I think it would be not good for the country, I don’t think it’d be good for Donald Trump to come back here in March and have to move forward on not a new spending program, but one that is already— should’ve been done last September, last October,” he told reporters at a weekly press conference.

Tags Donald Trump Harry Reid John Cornyn John McCain Lamar Alexander Mitch McConnell Paul Ryan