House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says it’s a mistake for House GOP leaders to cede the first move in this month’s spending fight to the Senate.
“I don’t ever like to give up the prerogative of [being] the first,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday in the Capitol.
{mosads}Pelosi acknowledged the political minefield facing Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who has struggled to rally his restive conference around a continuing resolution (CR) and prevent an Oct. 1 government shutdown.
But the GOP’s infighting has undermined the power of House lawmakers to dictate the content of the package, she charged.
“The reason it’s beginning in the Senate is because the Speaker can’t pass a bill — originate a bill — in the House,” Pelosi said. “And that’s unfortunate because we’d all like to be able to weigh in more fully on our side, rather than receiving what the Senate will pass.”
The CR is the only must-pass legislation confronting Congress this month, and leaders of both parties are hoping to move a bill quickly, both to ensure there’s no shutdown and to get vulnerable members back on the campaign trail ahead of November’s elections.
Amid the debate, conservative Republicans have pressured Ryan to move a CR that would extend government spending until early next year. Proponents of that plan say it would empower the next president — who they hope will be GOP nominee Donald Trump — to influence spending decisions while precluding the sway of President Obama.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is pushing a short-term plan to extend funding to Dec. 9 — forcing Congress to revisit the budget debate in the lame-duck session — and other leaders in both parties are on board.
Pelosi surmised that for Ryan, convincing the recalcitrant conservatives to swallow a shorter timeline cost the Speaker the political capital to originate the CR in the House, as the Constitution dictates.
“I’d rather it start over here, but I think that the Speaker had enough of a challenge to go from six months to three months, and he considers that, I think, his contribution to the cause,” she said.
Ryan has a decidedly different take, saying the Senate “chose” to initiate the process.
“It’s always a mistake to let the Senate go first, don’t you think?” Ryan quipped during his own press briefing, just minutes after Pelosi left the same podium.
“I typically think we’re a little more efficient and faster when the House goes first on things,” he added. “But in this case, the Senate chose to do that. And I think they’re going to work their way through it.”
There were early expectations that McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) could wrap up a CR deal this week. But both chambers recessed Thursday without an agreement.
A major sticking point has been a proposal to provide new funding to combat the Zika virus, which is expected to be attached to the CR.
Republicans have included language in their Zika bill to prevent the money from going to Planned Parenthood clinics — a non-starter with Democratic leaders that would almost certainly lead to an Obama veto. It remains unclear how GOP leaders will proceed.
Some Republicans predict it will be tough to move a package if the Planned Parenthood language is excised.
“I don’t think we’re likely to move if we don’t get some satisfaction from the pro-life groups,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said Thursday.
“I don’t think that very many Republicans are going to be supporting something where money can end up at Planned Parenthood.”
But other Republicans — particularly those in Florida, the only state where Zika has spread — say they’re ready to sacrifice the Planned Parenthood provision for the sake of addressing the more urgent Zika crisis.
“Whatever it takes to get it done, we have to get it done. And it that means having a clean Zika bill, I am all in,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) told The Hill, adding that “a vast majority” of Republicans agree.
Diaz-Balart noted his long track record opposing Planned Parenthood funding. “But if the choice is put mothers and babies at risk, that’s just not a viable alternative,” he said.
“There are meritorious issues, but you can’t fight every issue on every bill.”
As Diaz-Balart spoke, a mosquito buzzed by his head.
“It’s a sign,” he said.