Omnibus Appears Dead; Dueling CRs Take Center Stage

Senate attempts to pass an omnibus appropriations bill failed Thursday according to The Hill newspaper and attention now will turn to passing a short term Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government till Febuary. This contrasts with the House-passed CR that would fund the federal government through the end of FY2011.

A number of Republican Senators who had indicated they would support the omnibus package changed their minds under pressure from Republican colleagues according to the newspaper. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell later introduced a CR to fund the governnmet through February 2011, but that conflicts with the House version that lasts through September 2011. House Democrats did not want a short term CR because Republicans will be in control of that chamber beginning in January and thus would have more power to shape FY2011 spending. The Senate omnibus ran into trouble because it contains more than $2 billion in earmarks.

Thus, in these last two days before the current CR expires, it remains unclear who will come out on top.