A 2020 US military spending bill is on a tight deadline, according to officials who say that to get it done this year, they would need to work something out in the next three weeks, because of the holiday break.



Reconciling House and Senate versions is a priority, but seems less and less likely, with the respective committees passing offers and counter-offers but seemingly not making any progress. The Senate tried to pass a bill but failed last week.



With the two houses held by different parties, there are a lot of issues that remain, but one of the largest problems is President Trump insisting that the bill fund his border wall. Democrats are broadly opposing this.



The expectation is that, barring some major unforeseen compromise, there will eventually be another continuing resolution to keep funding the military going forward, aiming to get more time.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz