PEORIA, Ill. – Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. have until midnight Tuesday to approve a deal to avoid a government shutdown.
The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to vote on Tuesday on a bill that passed in the House last week, and already failed once in the Senate.
Republican 17th District Congressman Darin LaHood of Dunlap hopes Senators can get it done.
“The bottom line is, we have a responsibility and obligation to keep the government funded. And, I’m hopeful that calmer heads can prevail, and we’ll get the government funded today (Tuesday),” LaHood says.
He tells WMBD’s “Greg and Dan” there are currently 53 Republican votes in the Senate to push the spending bill through, but they need 60 votes to pass it.
LaHood says add-ons from Democrats, including a request to extend Obama Care tax credits and funding for illegal immigrants, could keep the bill from getting passed in time.
“Now is not the time to do that. Let’s fund the government through November 20th, another seven weeks, and then let’s negotiate,” LaHood says.
If the spending bill doesn’t get the 60 votes needed in the Senate, federal government agencies will start shutting down.
Even if a spending bill clears the Senate, it would still need to be approved by the House. But, the House of Representatives isn’t scheduled to reconvene until Wednesday.
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