The House and Senate will vote this week on a bill to fund the government for six weeks and suspend the nation’s borrowing limit for one year, lawmakers said Wednesday.
The measure will also include a provision to form a select bipartisan, bicameral committee to examine the “dysfunction” in the congressional spending process, which over the past several years has required an endless string of short-term bills to fund the federal government and numerous spending showdowns that have either resulted in, or threatened, partial government closures.
A report would be due by year's end “on how we can fix this broken process once and for all on House and Senate budget appropriations," Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., said.
The short-term measure is aimed at maintaining government funding for six weeks while the two parties write spending legislation for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The provision to suspend the debt ceiling comes at the urging of Treasury officials, who said the nation’s borrowing limit will be reached in March.
The short-term bill also include tens of billions of dollars for disaster relief, lawmakers said, although the exact amount has not been determined yet.
The short-term deal was announced as Senate Democrats and Republicans prepare to send to the House their framework for a long-term spending framework and a two-year accord on budget caps. The six weeks are needed to keep the government funded while they craft the larger spending deal, GOP leaders said.
According to House Republican lawmakers who were briefed on the matter Wednesday afternoon, the long-term deal would raise domestic spending above federal spending caps by $37 billion while defense spending will be raised above the caps by $54 billion.
The $37 billion includes about $6 billion specifically designated for battling the nation’s opioid epidemic and it will include money for infrastructure projects.
Some conservatives exiting the House GOP conference meeting said they are unhappy with the plan because it raises federal spending and suspends the debt limit, which will allow the Treasury to borrow on behalf of the nation without any limit.
"I won't have any part of it," Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., said, complaining about the nation's debt.
Collins, a member of the whip team, said GOP dissent will mean Democrats may be required to pass the short-term bill.
More than a dozen Democrats voted for the last short-term bill, and Collins said he expects some will cross over and vote on it this time as well, despite opposition from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Pelosi said early Wednesday she opposes the deal because it does not include a provision to protect so-called Dreamers from deportation.
“I think it’s headed in the right direction,” Rep Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told the Washington Examiner. “I’m optimistic about it.”
Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said the deal is a compromise that won’t make everyone happy.
“There will be parts of it you like, and parts of it you don’t like,” Simpson said.