华盛顿——控制参议院的共和党人周二公布了一项政府范围内的1.4万亿美元支出法案，这是一项主要由两党共同制定的措施，在华盛顿选举后的动荡时期面临不确定的可能性。
共和党起草的措施包含对总统的资助唐纳德·特朗普但是两党的最高领导人都想努力推动未完成的支出法案的实施，这些法案，连同一项单独的新冠肺炎救援工作和年度国防政策法案，代表了国会山今年未完成的大部分工作。
然而，成功取决于获得特朗普的签名，特朗普的不可预测性和与民主党的不良关系可能会毁掉这一努力。随着白宫的移交，近期跛脚鸭会议的历史是，未完成的支出法案被踢到下一年，现有的资金只是停留在自动试点上。
“我以前也有过这样的争论，到目前为止我已经输了。共和党参议员罗伊·布朗特(Roy Blunt)说:“12年前，也就是奥巴马换届时，我认为，你能为新总统做的最好的事情就是完成今年的工作，但我们没有完成。“四年前我认为...我们没有完成它。”
争论的焦点是大约三分之一的联邦预算，这是由国会根据经过时间考验的两党程序每年制定的。总体支出金额已由去年的两党预算小型协议在法律上设定，因此推迟到明年不太可能给拜登政府带来更多资金。目前的资助将于12月12日到期。
参议院拨款委员会主席理查·谢尔比·阿拉巴马公布的12项开支措施。，已经停滞了几个月，被困在COVID救济的战斗和警察改革问题的潜在战斗中。但他得到了佛蒙特州民主党高层小组成员、多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔的支持。，以及纽约州参议院民主党人查克·舒默至少继续努力。众议院议长南希·佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi，D-Calif)本人也是拨款委员会的资深成员，她也想结束未完成的工作。
谢尔比在一份声明中说:“总的来说，这些法案是委员会成员两党合作的产物。”“一次又一次，我们展示了我们合作完成工作的意愿。我们面前有机会再次为美国人民服务。”
但莱希小心翼翼地避免直接支持这项措施，而是批评这项立法忽视了新冠肺炎救济，缩短了安全网计划和环境，并在未使用的非法入境移民拘留床上浪费金钱。
如果总括法案要推进，它必须包含COVID救济，如帮助学校重新开学的资金，为国家接种疫苗，帮助失业者，以及刺激经济。
莱希在一份声明中说:“这个国家正面临一个致命的冬天，我们早就应该提供国家所需的资源来控制这种病毒，恢复我们的经济。”“这些法案没有提供任何这种救济。我们必须采取必要措施阻止这一流行病的蔓延。”
GOP unveils $1.4T spending bill amid post-election turmoil
WASHINGTON -- Republicans controlling the Senate unveiled a government-wide, $1.4 trillion spending bill on Tuesday, a mostly bipartisan measure that faces uncertain odds during this period of post-election tumult in Washington.
The GOP-drafted measure contains funding for PresidentDonald Trump's border wall and other provisions opposed by Democrats, but top leaders in both parties want to try to mount a drive to enact the unfinished spending bills — which, along with a separate COVID-19 relief effort and annual defense policy bill, represent the bulk of Capitol Hill's unfinished business for the year.
Success depends on getting the signature of Trump, however, whose unpredictability and toxic relationships with Democrats threaten to doom the effort. The recent history of lame-duck sessions conducted as the White House is turning over has been that unfinished spending bills get kicked into the next year, with existing funding simply left on auto-pilot.
“I've had this argument before and so far I've lost. I argued 12 years ago, the Obama transition, that the best thing you could do to help the new president was to get this year's work done, and we didn't get it done," said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. “Four years ago I argued that ... and we didn't get it done."
At issue is the roughly one-third of the federal budget that is written annually by Congress under a time-tested bipartisan process. The overall spending amount has been set in law by last year's bipartisan budget mini-deal, so any delay into next year won't likely result in more money for the Biden administration. Current funding expires Dec. 12.
The 12 spending measures, released by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., have been stalled for months, trapped by fights over COVID relief and potential battles over police reform issues. But he has the backing of top panel Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York to at least pursue the effort. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., herself a long-ago veteran of the Appropriations Committee, also would like to wrap up the unfinished business.
“By and large, these bills are the product of bipartisan cooperation among members of the committee," Shelby said in a statement. “Time after time, we have demonstrated our willingness to work together and get the job done. We have before us the opportunity to deliver for the American people once again.”
But Leahy carefully avoided endorsing the measure outright and instead criticized the legislation for ignoring COVID-19 relief, shortchanging safety net programs and the environment, and wasting money on unused detention beds for immigrants entering the country illegally.
If the catchall bill is to advance it would have to contain COVID relief such as funding to help schools reopen, vaccinate the country, help the jobless, and boost the economy.
“This country is headed for a deadly winter and it is long past time for us to provide the resources the country needs to get this virus under control and our economy back open," Leahy said in a statement. “These bills do not provide any such relief. It is imperative that we do what is necessary to stop this pandemic from spreading."
