In response to the House budget continuing resolution (CR), H.R. 1, that passed on Saturday, Feb. 19, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday that to avoid a government shutdown on March 4, he planned to introduce a stop-gap CR this week that he can bring to the Senate floor for a vote the week of Feb. 28.
Reid also said Tuesday that he’s asked his chief of staff, David Krone, to begin negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner’s, R-Ohio, chief of staff, Barry Jackson, to shape a “long-term” CR.
The House CR, which includes $61 billion in budget cuts, will run into opposition from the Democratic majority in the Senate. The House CR includes a $41 million budget cut for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The $41 million cut for the SEC is based on the fact that the continuing resolution for the current fiscal year (2010) gave the SEC the authority to spend $1.1 billion. The House Republican resolution for the rest of 2011 would cut $41 million from the earlier appropriation to $1.069 billion.