Obama sees ‘constructive work’ to solve budget, Zika issues

“The speaker talked about his desire to get the appropriations process working, and told the leaders he objected to doing an omnibus spending bill later in the year”, the aide said. The government funding bill is the only must-pass piece of legislation ahead of the election and thus has become the vehicle for the Zika provisions. Another issue that may be conflictive for the White House is the approval of a law that is now in the hands of the president to allow the families of the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks to sue Saudi Arabia in USA courts for its alleged links with those attacks.

But with the end of the fiscal year quickly approaching on September 30, and the likelihood of getting all 12 bills passed looking almost impossible, leaders in both chambers are stuck trying to figure out the best way forward on keeping the government funded. Congress and the administration have yet to agree on legislation to fund government operations beyond that date.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the meeting at the White House was “a good meeting”.

The Senate is already considering taking up a short-term spending bill to fund the government through December 9, but the House has not determined how it will proceed.

The lawmakers have been back from a seven-week summer recess for only a week but already are eager to depart again so that vulnerable lawmakers of both parties can campaign for re-election.

“While we still reserve the idea of bringing our own bill, at this point the talk is about perfecting the bill in the Senate”, House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers said when asked by Roll Call about the nature of discussions on a stopgap continuing resolution.

Democrat Obama said he was hopeful about reaching agreements with the Republican-majority Congress on funding to fight the Zika virus and for disaster relief after flooding in Louisiana.

Obama, just back from a trip to Asia, invited the GOP leaders, Ryan and McConnell, and their counterparts, Reid and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said his staff was working “diligently” toward a solution, and he called on Republicans to “get away from their vendetta against Planned Parenthood. We’ve made a lot of progress”, he said. In February, Obama had asked Congress to approve $1.9 billion in emergency funds to fight Zika with diagnostic tools and vaccines, but disagreements over side issues related to abortion have led to divisions about full funding. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has said that Republicans will not provide an earmark for Planned Parenthood, but noted that there is funding for contraceptive services for other clinics in Puerto Rico.

Obama’s continued push to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during his trip to Asia, closing the detention facility in Guantanamo and his stalled nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court also figure to be among the priorities the president will address.

Obama said he hoped Congress can make “modest progress” before the November 8 elections and he was “even more hopeful we can get some things done”, after them.