This week: Crunch time for Congress

Congress has only a few days left to avert a government shutdown amid an end-of-year dash for the holidays.

Lawmakers have until Friday to pass a long-term, catchall spending bill known as an omnibus. Negotiators are aiming to release the text of the massive legislation on Monday in order to schedule votes by midweek.

At issue are a litany of policy riders expected to be attached to the spending measure. Potential riders range from tightening the visa waiver program, halting refugee resettlement, blocking environmental regulations and loosening campaign finance restrictions. 

{mosads}Another possible item that could be included in the omnibus is a measure to renew the program providing health benefits to 9/11 first responders, also known as the James Zadroga Act.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) appeared optimistic last week that they would be able to get an agreement despite the unclear path forward. 

“Seriously, I feel good about the omnibus. I think we’ve made progress every day,” he told reporters, though warning that “vexatious poison pill riders” could still lead to a shutdown. 

While House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) opened the door to a one-week stopgap bill if lawmakers need extra time to reach a deal, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) shut down questions about a stopgap bill lasting a few days.

“Don’t even say that word. We’re going to get an omnibus bill. Our deadline is Dec. 11,” he told reporters. “Please, let’s keep a positive frame of mind.” 

Still, a stopgap measure to buy extra time for clearing Senate procedural hurdles may be necessary if the House can’t hold a vote until Wednesday at the earliest. 

Visa waivers

The House is expected to vote Tuesday on legislation to tighten the visa waiver program in the aftermath of last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris, as well as the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.

The program allows tourists from 38 countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Spain, to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa. Calls to enhance the program’s security have heightened in recent weeks following reports that the identified attackers in Paris came from elsewhere in Europe or had visited the Middle East.

Last week, the Obama administration announced changes to the program to expand security checks, such as determining whether any travelers had been to countries viewed as a “terrorist safe haven.” 

The legislation is slated to come up under a fast-track procedure requiring a two-thirds majority to pass. It appears likely to hit that requirement given the measure’s wide bipartisan support.

That stands in contrast to the measure passed by the House last month to enhance security requirements for any refugee applicants coming from Syria or Iraq. 

No Child Left Behind Rewrite

The Senate will spend the first part of the week debating an overhaul of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law.

The proposal—which overwhelmingly passed the House last week—would reduce the federal government’s role in public education by transferring more decision-making authority back to state and local governments. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) filed cloture last week on the House-Senate compromise legislation on Thursday evening, setting up a procedural vote on the proposal for Tuesday. 

The Senate passed its original version earlier this year by an 81-17 margin, though Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.), voted against it. 

Referring to the Senate’s July vote, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said, “I expect the same result next week so we can finally send a bill to the president’s desk to fix this broken law.”

End-of-year dash

Both chambers are officially scheduled to be in session through Dec. 18. But there’s a chance the House and Senate could adjourn for the year on Friday if they can clear all of the remaining items on the docket.

A package to renew expiring tax credits, as well as a conference report for a trade customs bill, are possible items for consideration this week. If Congress can get to everything by Friday, leaders may opt to let members eager to return back to their districts out early for the winter holidays.

But the jam-packed week may start out relatively slowly. The House canceled its usual 6:30 p.m. evening votes on Monday so that lawmakers can attend the annual White House holiday party. First House votes of the week subsequently won’t be until mid-afternoon Tuesday.