House bill would fund government through mid-December

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House will vote this week on a stopgap funding bill to keep the government running until Dec. 11.

A vote is expected Thursday, and the bill is expected to pass with bipartisan support before heading to the Senate, where a vote is scheduled for next week. The short-term funding bill will eliminate the threat of a Sept. 30 government shutdown when the current fiscal year ends and punt the debate over the annual spending bills into a lame-duck session after the November elections.

The funding bill will also include extra provisions intended to streamline votes ahead of the elections. Included is a short-term extension of the Export-Import Bank's charter through June 30, 2015, as well as $88 million in funds requested by the Obama administration to combat the threat of the Ebola virus.

The bill includes no additional funds for the U.S. border, after the number of undocumented minors attempting to cross the border dropped and lessened the need for additional funds requested in July by the White House. House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said the bill gives departments more flexibility to shift funds between accounts to address funding concerns.

Rogers said he is in talks with Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., to craft an "omnibus" spending bill — which would package all of the annual 12 spending bills into one behemoth legislative package — to have ready in time for the lame-duck session in December.

Rogers said Congress should vote on the omnibus regardless of whether Republicans win control of the U.S. Senate in November. "I want to get (fiscal year) '15 over with, conclude it, before the new Congress meets in January. And I would rather the new Congress start off from scratch than inherit a bunch of old difficulties," he said.