Negotiators are making progress on the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations bills, with several of the 12 bills being close to finished. Adoption of these spending bills would provide a blueprint for federal spending for the remainder of the 2021 Fiscal Year. The biggest sticking points in talks remain how to classify funding for veterans medical care and whether to allocate the money for southern border wall construction that President Trump requested. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) stated that if appropriators have not reached a deal on December 9th, then lawmakers will need to pass another continuing resolution (CR) to give them more time to try and broker a deal. The current CR expires on December 11th and absence a deal or CR, there would be a federal government shutdown. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) also noted that tax extenders probably will not make it into the final package due to opposition from Democrats and Republican Members on the House Ways & Means Committee.
