Congress again averted a government shutdown on Dec. 11 with the House voting to keep the government open until Dec. 16 while budget negotiations continue.
The House passed H.J. 2250 by a voice vote a day after the legislation breezed through the Senate in a unanimous vote.
As part of the budget process, Congress must past 12 appropriations bills or package them into one omnibus bill. The challenge for budget negotiation thus far has been a series of contentious issues that could be amended into the bill, called policy riders.
The policy riders have been vast and varied throughout the negotiations, revolving around issues that would draw a White House veto if included in an omnibus bill.
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In September, the principle disagreement was over the federal funding of Planned Parenthood, but that was resolved with the Sept. 30 agreement. Now, a bill to tighten visa restrictions for Syrian refugees appears to be the landmine that Congress has to defuse before sending legislation to the president.
The new continuing resolution comes on the heels of a two-month agreement on Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown while Congress worked out the appropriations on a deal to fund the government through March 2017.
Under the stop-gap measure, the government will continue to be funded through midnight on Dec. 16 unless there is either a budget deal or another CR. House votes on the omnibus bill are expected no earlier than Dec. 15.
