Senate negotiators near deal to fund government

Senate negotiators are nearing a deal to fund the government that would allow lawmakers to get out of town and back on the campaign trail by the end of the week.

The Senate delayed a procedural vote set for Monday evening  on the measure, which would fund federal department and agencies through Dec. 9, to Tuesday afternoon. The vote is now set for 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

{mosads}The key issue in the talks is resolving a fight that would prevent $1.1 billion in new money to fight the spread of the Zika virus from being used by Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico.

Republicans are close to a deal that would nix that language and allow the clinics in Puerto Rico, where Zika is rampant, to use the money.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who came in second in the Republican presidential primary, has led the battle to include language blocking what he calls the “Internet handover.”

One of the last remaining obstacles, according to Democratic sources, is the Republicans’ desire to find ways to offset the cost of the $1.1 billion.

Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters Monday evening that he hoped the talks would finish by Tuesday but questioned whether Democrats may want to keep vulnerable GOP incumbents in town.

“It looks like we may be here a little longer than we thought,” he said. “I’m an optimist, so tomorrow would be great, but I’m not sure everybody has the same incentives to finish up early.”

The backdrop for the negotiations is the fall campaign and the pitched battle for the Senate.

Democrats need to gain four seats and hold the White House to win back control of the Senate.

In recent weeks, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has bumped up in polls, and Republicans have become much more optimistic about keeping the upper chamber.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wants to finalize the funding deal and get his colleagues back to their home states. He told colleagues on the Senate floor Monday that he wants to move the stopgap spending measure soon.

“Senate Republicans stand ready to move forward with this important measure now. I would encourage our colleagues across the aisle to work with us to complete the negotiations so we can advance this important measure,” he said.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) has leverage because nine Republican senators are in danger this election cycle, although a few of them, particularly Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, have seen their poll numbers improve recently. 

No Democratic incumbent is in serious danger.

Overall, Republicans have to defend 24 seats, while Democrats must protect only 10.

The continuing resolution is the last major piece of business that needs to be finished before it can recess.

Democrats have pushed for a rider that would change the quorum rule at the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) so that it would be able to approve transactions exceeding $10 million even though only two seats on its five-person board are filled.

But they acknowledged Monday the provision is unlikely to be included in the continuing resolution even though it has support from some Republicans such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.).

GOP sources say that adding the Ex-Im rider would make it much tougher to pass the legislation in the House, where conservatives will object to the concession on Planned Parenthood access to Zika funding.

“There are still a lot of outstanding riders being discussed and negotiated. Republicans seem more willing to allow Zika funding in a way that allows Planned Parenthood to access the money,” said a senior aide familiar with the negotiations.

Planned Parenthood’s use of the funds to fight Zika, which can cause severe birth defects, has been the biggest sticking point in the talks, but now the central concern is the budgetary impact of the new funding.

Senate leaders are discussing revenue raisers and spending cuts to offset the cost of the emergency funding. Democrats argue they’re unnecessary, but Republicans want to reduce the budgetary impact.

“There has been some progress made in that area,” Cornyn said of the pending offsets. “I certainly think we should offset all of it.”

Democrats say if emergency money is designated for Louisiana, they want money included to rebuild the water infrastructure in Flint, Mich., where lead-tainted drinking water made national headlines earlier this year. 

McConnell initially hoped to begin the floor debate on the stopgap last week but postponed action when a deal failed to emerge last week. The Senate had scheduled a vote to begin debate on the measure Monday but it was delayed once again. 

Sarah Ferris contributed.