Congress edges toward a compromise on spending

By Rosalind S. Helderman,
WashPost
Published: December 11

Put this in the “small accomplishments” category for an especially gridlocked Congress: It appears increasingly likely that, with little fuss, lawmakers will approve a bipartisan compromise in coming days that will keep government running past Friday, when a short-term funding measure that has kept the lights on expires.

Partisan clashes have brought the government to the brink of a shutdown three times in the past year. But this time, appropriators from the House and Senate have been quietly working toward the unveiling, expected late Monday, of a compromise spending measure that would outline how government agencies should spend nearly $1 trillion through Sept. 30, 2012.

One thing the negotiators have had going for them is that they’ve been given space to work, their efforts largely overshadowed by a bitter fight between Republicans and President Obama over extending a one-year cut in the payroll tax, paid by 160 million workers, when it lapses at the end of the month.

It’s also helped that Congress agreed to an overall spending level for the year — often the most contentious issue — as part of the August debt deal. And talks have been smoothed as both parties have come to grips with the need for compromise. While Republicans hold a majority in the House, it has become clear that a bloc of several dozen members who want dramatic spending cuts will probably oppose almost any appropriations deal, meaning that Republicans need Democratic votes to get a bill passed.

(More here.)