SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: House Passes Funding Bill Deemed 'Dead On Arrival' In Senate

An already contentious debate over funding the government after September 30 intensified Thursday as Republicans amended their bill to be more amenable to GOP lawmakers and Democrats pledged to oppose it.

Without action by the start of the new fiscal year, the government will shut down on October 1.

House Republicans passed a continuing resolution early Friday morning on a mostly partly-line vote, though the bill drew immediate criticism from Senate Democrats over its spending cut offsets for new federal disaster aid.

“The bill the House will vote on tonight is not an honest effort at compromise," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, noting that the bill is dead on arrival in the Senate. "It fails to provide the relief that our fellow Americans need as they struggle to rebuild their lives in the wake of floods, wildfires and hurricanes, and it will be rejected by the Senate."

The House added $100 million in cuts to the federal program that made the loan to the now-bankrupt solar company, Solyndra, in order to win over enough GOP votes to pass over Democratic opposition. An earlier version fo the bill failed to pass on Wednesday, dealing a blow to tha Republican leadership.

The measure includes $3.65 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, less than the $6.9 requested by the Obama administration and demanded by Democrats.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for Speaker of the House John Boehner, called on the Senate to pass the bill in its current form, noting FEMA could run out of disaster relief money as soon as Monday.

“The Senate should pass this bill immediately, and the President should sign it, because any political games will delay FEMA money that suffering American families desperately need.”

Reid said that the Senate was willing to postpone its vacation to reach a compromise — a prospect House Majority Leader Eric Cantor ruled out early Friday morning — setting the stage for a high-stakes game of political chicken with a week until the deadline.

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The FAA Is About To Run Out Of Money AGAIN Due To Senate Stalemate

For the second time in as many months, the Federal Aviation Administration may temporarily furlough some 80,000 employees if Congress  can't reach a deal to extend the agency's funding by Friday night.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has held up passage of the funding extension bill, which would appropriate additional money for the FAA and federal highway transit projects, citing an objection to one component of the transit side of the legislation. The House unanimously passed that bill Tuesday, and the Senate has until midnight on Friday to also pass it before funding for the FAA runs out.

Complicating matters, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) accused Coburn of putting a hold on a $7 million FEMA emergency funding bill that, due to procedural rules, must be voted on before the Senate can move on to the FAA bill. Since the Senate passed a cloture motion on Tuesday to move ahead on the FEMA bill, they must tackle that bill first unless Reid punts on it, something he has so far refused to do.

Coburn wants to amend the FAA bill to remove a provision requiring states to spend 10% of their highway budgets on "transportation enhancement" projects, such as bike paths and green space improvements. On Wednesday, Coburn acknowledged on the Senate floor that his position would likely be unpopular, but insisted that it was, in his mind, the right thing to do.

“If the Senate wants to solve the problem with these two bills, we can split them up or we can keep them together but we need to end the enhancements right now until we get the highway trust fund healthy again,” he said, according to The Hill.

In August, the FAA shut down for 13 days when Congress failed to reach a deal on a temporary funding extension. The latest funding extension would prop up the FAA until January.

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Round Two: Linda McMahon To Launch Second Senate Bid In 2012

Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon, who dumped $50 million of her own money on a failed Senate bid in Connecticut in 2010, is preparing to announce that she will again run for Senate next year, according to The New York Times.

Citing two Republican sources, the Times said that McMahon will announce her candidacy in the coming week.

Last year, McMahon ran unsuccessfully to replace retiring Sen. Chris Dodd, ultimately losing to then Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. McMahon, who had never run for office before and who had little name recognition statewide, utilized her robust fortune to quickly build a formidable campaign operation and win the Republican primary, beating out former Rep. Rob Simmons.

In the general election, McMahon started off as a huge underdog in deep-blue Connecticut, but she considerably closed the gap between herself and Blumenthal amid allegations that Blumenthal had overstated his military service during the Vietnam War. However, the waning days of the campaign saw McMahon's popularity plummet, and Blumenthal wound up winning by a comfortable margin.

McMahon will now be running to fill the vacancy that will be left when Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) retires at the end of his term.

The contest for the Democratic nomination is already underway, as former Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz and Rep. Chris Murphy have both formally declared their candidacies.

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