House Republican offers bill to keep US government funded through April
WASHINGTON - The Republican head of a House of Representatives committee said on Tuesday he was offering a bill to keep the US government funded through April, ahead of a Friday deadline to keep agencies running.
House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers said in a statement the short-term Continuing Resolution would fund the federal government until April 28, and included money for emergency disaster relief.
The move would give incoming Republican President-elect Donald Trump more of a say on budget and appropriations issues, allowing him to set funding priorities for the remainder of fiscal year 2017, which ends on Sept. 30.
The bill also contains a provision that will make it easier for Trump's choice as defense secretary, General James Mattis, to pass a bureaucratic hurdle to his appointment. Since he retired only in 2013, Mattis will need Congress to waive a requirement that he be a civilian for at least seven years before taking the top job at the Pentagon.
