Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has effectively killed any hopes of passing an omnibus appropriations bill in the lame duck, announcing Thursday that he is opposed to such a measure. Congress will be forced to keep the government operating through a continuing resolution. ...
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said Wednesday that he expected a decision Thursday on whether Democrats would try to pass a complete omnibus for the rest of the fiscal year, or what is likely to be a shorter-term continuing resolution that freezes federal funding at fiscal 2010 levels. But McConnell's announcement signals a lack of GOP support for that course in the Senate, meaning Democrats will likely have to settle on a continuing resolution. Language for such a bill is being drafted by House and Senate appropriators, aides have said.
A lengthy continuing resolution is bad for Social Security because the agency faces rising workloads. I am very afraid that we are looking at continuing resolutions for the rest of this fiscal year and maybe the next as well.
In his written testimony at the hearing on Monday, the COSS stated that SSA "may" have a furlough if we do not get the President's FY 2011 budget. Time will tell if this is a reality or political grandstanding...
ReplyDeleteA furlough wouldn't be unprecedented.
ReplyDelete