With federal funding scheduled to expire on Jan. 15 under the terms of a previously approved temporary spending measure, Congress is working this week to wrap up and pass a massive, omnibus spending bill to fund DOT/FAA, DHS/TSA/CBP and the rest of the federal government through the fiscal year (2014) that ends on September 30.
Lawmakers have acknowledged that they won’t have everything completed by the Jan. 15 deadline and are scheduled in the next day or so to approve another short-term funding resolution to keep the government functioning through Jan. 18. AAAE Airport Legislative Alliance staff report that the extra three days are expected to provide Congress with adequate time to take up and pass the broader funding bill. According to ALA staff, it appears that the omnibus measure will be approved without the problems that have accompanied other spending measures in the recent past.
Negotiators have been working around the clock over the past few weeks to finalize the omnibus measure, and the package was expected to be formally filed Monday afternoon or evening. The House will consider the omnibus bill first, beginning as early as Tuesday with the Senate expected to take up the package later this week.
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