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Chellie Pingree Says She’s Hopeful A Government Shutdown Will Be Averted

Robert F. Bukaty
/
Associated Press
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, addresses the Democratic Convention, Friday, May 18, 2018, in Lewiston, Maine.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District serves on the conference committee ironing out differences in what congressional leaders are calling minibus spending bills. She says the goal is to avoid a federal government shutdown.“Whatever isn’t passed by the end of September when the government would shut down will be included in a continuing resolution,” she says.

Pingree says congressional leaders hope to have most of the spending bills for the new budget year that starts Oct. 1 passed this month. She says unrelated policy riders are slowing down the process.

“Now there is general agreement that we are not that far,” she says. “These are huge, huge stacks of paper when you are sitting in the conference committee. They are big, big bills, so we are actually down to a few of the trickiest issues, and most people feel we should take these politically contentious riders just off these bills.”

She doubts a bill that includes funding for Homeland Security programs will passed, because President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the bill unless it has all the funding for the border wall that he demands. The bill would fund the Agriculture, Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development programs.

Last week, Congress sent Trump the first of the bills, a $147 billion package funding programs in energy, veterans affairs and military construction.

Journalist Mal Leary spearheads Maine Public's news coverage of politics and government and is based at the State House.