Shutdown fight looms amid House-Senate disaster aid impasse
By Russell Berman - 09/20/11 02:23 PM ET
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the Senate would amend and send back the House bill if Republicans do not increase the amount of federal disaster aid, and the No. 2 House Democrat, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), said Democrats in the lower chamber would be “loathe” to support the measure as written.
Both chambers are scheduled to be on recess next week, meaning they need to resolve their differences before leaving town. The opposition from Democrats increases the possibility of another shutdown fight, a prospect that leaders in both parties have said they want to avoid.
House Republicans plan to bring up the spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, on Wednesday. The measure would fund the government through Nov. 18 and contains $3.65 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, less than the $6.9 billion in relief the Senate approved in a standalone measure last week.
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It remains unclear whether Democrats will vote en masse against the bill. The party’s top appropriator, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), has said he would support the bill despite his criticisms of its offsets for disaster aid. Republican leaders may need Democratic votes because they face opposition from some conservatives who want them to push for deeper spending cuts in fiscal 2012.
more:
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/182621-democrats-ramp-up-criticism-of-gop-spending-bill