Hoyer predicts Dec. 14 exit; Reid says more like Dec. 21

House and Senate Democratic leaders are giving different target adjournment dates for when the congressional session will conclude for the year.

Even though only one of the annual appropriations bills has been signed into law and tax, energy and Iraq funding bills are in the congressional pipeline, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Wednesday he expects to wrap up business by Dec. 14.

{mosads}Hoyer acknowledged that few others on Capitol Hill would make the same prediction. “There are many of my friends who believe we are delusional on that issue,” he joked.

On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters he expects the Senate to keep working for at least another week after Hoyer’s targeted adjournment date. Reid set Dec. 21 as a target but raised the specter that work could drag later than that, into Christmas week itself.

“We would like to finish the business of this body by two weeks from Friday. That’s our goal. I hope we can do that,” Reid said on the Senate floor. “I hope we don’t have to work on Christmas week. It’s possible we might have to do that.”

The current stopgap measure funding the government expires Dec. 14, and Reid’s statement appears to throw out any hope that the Senate might adjourn by then.

Reid wants to tackle a patch of the Alternative Minimum Tax, a farm bill, an overhaul of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and an omnibus bill that will cobble together 11 of 12 appropriations measures before Congress leaves town. Additionally, the Senate will act on temporary funding for the Iraq war and an energy bill currently being considered by the House.

“I would hope that we can hold hands here a little bit, in the next couple weeks,” Reid said in a plea for GOP cooperation. “It’s a lot of work to do.”

Cooperation appears unlikely on the House side, where House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) rallied the troops against the Democratic omnibus in a conference meeting Wednesday. A GOP aide said Boehner explained that even members who had defected on individual spending bills in the past are now expected to vote party line against the bill.

Before adjourning, Hoyer wants to take on an energy package that would increase vehicle efficiency standards and repeal tax breaks for large energy companies. He also spoke of the need for an omnibus spending bill, but he conceded in an exchange with a reporter that there is a chance that the spending impasse between Congress and the White House could be resolved with a long-term stopgap “continuing resolution” that would continue funding at current levels for as long as a year.

Hoyer left unclear how House Democrats plan to resolve the thorny question of funding for the war in Iraq.

Congress has already passed a $459 billion defense spending bill, but has not passed any supplemental funding for the war. House Democrats passed a $50 billion measure to cover the costs of the war for four months. But they tied it to withdrawal, and Senate Republicans killed the measure.

President Bush is pushing Congress to pass the money without strings, saying the delay is depriving the military of badly needed money, and his Pentagon has threatened to send out layoff notices to employees.

Hoyer said the military has enough money to operate into next year.

“We believe the troops are funded right now,” he said.

Reid complained that Republicans were going to lengths in stalling Democratic efforts to move legislation swiftly. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) denied the obstruction charge, saying that the packed end-of-year agenda is a result of Democrats trying to ram bills through without Republican consent.

“We have nearly a full year’s worth of work to do until we leave for Christmas,” McConnell said, arguing that a narrow Democratic majority is repeatedly trying to dictate the terms of debate without working with Republicans.