–In Series of Votes, Senate Passes Funding Bill To Nov. 18
–Senate Also Sends House Bridging Bill To Fund Gov Til Oct 4
–House Set To Approve Stop-Gap Until Oct. 4 This Week By Voice Vote
–FEMA’s New Financial Estimates Obviates Need For Immediate Funds

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – After a congressional impasse over disaster
funds was broken by new cash flow estimates by the Federal Emergency
Management Administration, the Senate voted Monday to approve a stop-gap
spending bill that will fund the government until Nov. 18.

The Senate also approved a bridging stop-gap spending bill that
will fund the government until Oct. 4.

The House will approve the stop-gap funding bill until Oct. 4 this
week by voice vote and then will take up next week the longer-term stop
gap bill funding the federal government until Nov. 18.

The net result of these developments is that the threat of a
government shutdown on Oct. 1 has been eliminated.

Both the House and Senate were scheduled to be in recess this week,
but an apparent funding dispute over disaster assistance compelled
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring the Senate back into session
Monday.

The House is not scheduled to return to Washington until early next
week.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday evening that FEMA’s
new cash flow estimates eliminated the need for emergency funds in the
final days of the 2011 fiscal year and also makes the battle over
offsets for disaster funds moot.

“There is nothing to fight about tonight,” Reid said.

“We’ve basically resolved this issue,” he added.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday evening that
Republicans were right to insist on offsets for the FY’11 disaster
funds, but added that FEMA’s cash flow improvement makes this demand
unnecessary.

“A resolution appears to be at hand,” McConnell said.

The 2012 fiscal year begins Saturday and congressional leaders have
said they must past a stop-gap spending bill to fund the government
until Oct.1.

The underlying FY’12 stop-gap spending bill is relatively
non-controversial. It keeps the federal government running until Nov.
18 as work continues on the regular spending bills for the 2012 fiscal
year.

The overall funding level for discretionary programs in FY’12 was
agreed to earlier this year by the White House and Congress. That level
is $1.043 trillion for discretionary programs in FY’12.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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