| By Rebecca Kheel and Ellen Mitchell House Republicans next week hope to push forward their plan to pass a short-term spending bill that includes $640 billion for full-year defense funding.
But they must contend with Democrats who oppose the move. The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday released legislation that would fund domestic programs through Jan. 19 and fund the Defense Department through September 2018. The bill would also avert automatic defense sequestration cuts that would otherwise take effect. GOP leadership decided on the plan to placate defense hawks and conservatives, but Democrats are likely to oppose it. Democrats have routinely demanded an increase in domestic funding along with any boost in the defense budget. Government funding runs out on Friday, after a two-week spending bill known as a continuing resolution (CR), passed by Congress on Dec. 7, reaches its end. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), last week defended the funding measure, declaring the decision as "settled." "No one is arguing that we are appropriating too much money for the military, or that the needs of our men and women in uniform aren't urgent, or that we aren't running out of time to turn the readiness crisis around in the face of serious threats," Thornberry said in a Thursday statement. "Those issues are settled." The Senate must now approve the bill to avoid a government shutdown, but that looks unlikely, as at least 60 lawmakers must approve spending legislation to stave off a filibuster. Senate Democrats made their displeasure known, urging GOP leadership in both chambers to give up on the plan to fund the Pentagon for a full-year but not other domestic programs. "If presented with partisan legislation that leaves these key priorities behind, we will oppose it," the Democrats wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). But Thornberry in his statement pushed back on that stance. "Opponents of this bill argue that we should put our urgent national security needs on hold until we reach a similar consensus on a whole host of other domestic programs," Thornberry said. "We know what needs to be done to begin to repair our military. Congress should approve these resources now." A small number of committee hearings and outside events are also happening in the coming week as lawmakers look to wrap up their work for the year. U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker will speak at the Atlantic Council at an event on the prospect of a peacekeeping mission in Donbas at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. http://bit.ly/2yFoCTU The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hear from a State Department official on the U.S. strategy for Syria after the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Dirksen 419. http://bit.ly/2BrNmEW The Foreign Relations Committee will consider nominations for the ambassadors to Rwanda and Gabon at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Dirksen 419. http://bit.ly/2jZii5l ICYMI: -- NATO expresses 'serious concerns' Russian missile system violates arms treaty -- UN official back from North Korea worried about 'accidental move toward conflict' -- General requests second investigation into Somalia raid -- Haley presents 'undeniable' evidence of Iran's support for Yemeni rebels -- Navy to equip T-45 jets with new system after oxygen issues -- House GOP forges ahead with plan to include defense in spending bill -- Corker 'semi-hopeful' on Iran legislation as key deadline passes -- Senate Dems play hardball on funding bill -- Trump signs nearly $700B defense policy bill -- Mattis gets unique role in budget talks -- Judge denies Trump request to delay transgender military enlistment | 
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