Congressional negotiators are struggling to reach a deal to keep the government’s lights on past Dec. 20. Text of a continuing resolution (CR) for a government funding package was expected Sunday ahead of the looming shutdown deadline.
But lawmakers failed to release the text, with economic assistance for farmers emerging as an apparent last-minute sticking point.
Key players had indicated this week that the forthcoming CR, which keeps the government funded at current levels, would also include another one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill, as both sides have struggled to agree on a longer-term plan. But lawmakers had also ramped up talks of potential add-ons to provide economic assistance for farmers as part of the broader funding plan. Sen. John Hoeven (N.D.), the top Republican on the subcommittee that oversees agricultural funding, said in a statement Saturday that GOP leadership backed a proposed package of “$12 billion of relief for economic losses and $16 billion in weather-related assistance” that he was hopeful of being attached as part of the year-end stopgap funding deal. Read more