On Sunday, Senate Democrats filed a House-approved stopgap appropriations bill (HR 3082) that would maintain most federal spending levels through March 4, thus "ceding major leverage to Republicans in future battles," Politico reports (Rogers, Politico, 12/19).

The current short-term funding measure (H J Res 105) ends Tuesday, giving Congress a small window to act on the new bill and avoid a government shutdown, CQ Today reports (Krawzak/Young, CQ Today, 12/19). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has scheduled a vote for Tuesday (Holzer/O'Connor, Wall Street Journal, 12/20).

If approved, the March date "would represent a compromise" between the current Democratic majority and Republican leaders who hope to delay appropriations decisions until they take control of the House next month. The GOP had favored a continuing resolution that would have ended in February, while Democrats wanted a measure that extended to the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30 (CQ Today, 12/19).

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