Democratic and Republican sources say that a two track process will likely resolve the current standoff on Capitol Hill — the key questions now are about timing and choreography.
House Republican and Senate Democratic appropriators are close to a deal to avert a government shutdown and fund federal programs through the end of September.
On a separate track, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his GOP counterpart Sen. Mitch McConnell are hashing out a plan to renew the payroll tax cut and extend unemployment benefits that can pass the Senate (though there’s some disagreement about how involved McConnell’s staff is — Republicans say it’s mostly up to Reid to present a viable plan).
Senate Democrats would like to move these two items as a unit, suggesting they still don’t fully trust Republicans to deal in good faith on the payroll tax cut issue if the threat of a government shutdown is off the table. House Speaker John Boehner has publicly vowed to reconvene the House if Senate leaders can’t cut a payroll tax deal until after the government is funded. But Democrats worry that will empower McConnell to make demands he wouldn’t otherwise have the leverage to make.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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