September will bring another funding cliff for USDA and the rest of the federal government as the two parties fight it out over presidential funding ‘claw-backs.’ The House and Senate USDA spending bills are almost four billion dollars apart, and the House must still pass its bill before a compromise can be struck and taken up again in both chambers.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune volleyed, “…a lot depends on how cooperative the Democrats are in trying to get the appropriations process moving forward. But what I can tell you is, we are going to look for ways to keep the government funded, open, and operating.”
Democrat leaders in both chambers are demanding Republicans end ‘claw-backs’ and spending freezes in exchange for cooperation to keep the government funded. But Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley isn’t buying it. “This is a cover-your-rear-end sort of approach. This is their way of saying if the government shuts down, it’s the Republicans’ fault. We’re not going to fall for that,” Grassley said.
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