Today, the House passed a short-term funding bill (H.J. 2250) by a voice vote to avoid a government shutdown. The original EB-5 extension is included. Yesterday, the Senate passed the short-term, five-day continuing resolution (CR) by unanimous consent, giving lawmakers until December 16th to pass a long-term spending bill for the rest of fiscal year 2016.
Senate leaders have noted that they will not vote on a funding bill until the House does. As a result, Congressional leaders will be facing a tight deadline due to the nature of Senate procedure.
Reports indicate that the House may vote on a long-term funding bill as early as Tuesday, December 15th. As soon as the House passes a bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to file cloture on the funding measure immediately, forcing Senators to wait 30 hours before they can vote on final passage and send a budget bill to President Obama to be signed into law.
Negotiations between House Republicans and Democrats are ongoing and IIUSA continues to provide updates on the status of those negotiations.
