Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) on Tuesday suggested that Congress pass a clean, short-term spending resolution to keep the government open while party leaders negotiate a longer-term agreement.
“I think what we could do is pass a very short term, maybe not six weeks, but what about one week, so we could negotiate over a week,” the Kentucky Republican told CNN’s “New Day.” “I think a continuing bill to keep the government open while we negotiate is a good idea. I do agree that negotiating with the government closed probably to [Democrats] appears like strong-arm tactics.”
But it does need to be short-term enough “that we are having an active negotiation that we don’t just say we’re going to fund it for three months or two months and come back,” he said.
“I think if we did it for a week or two, we could still continue to negotiate, have a conference committee and really I think the American people do want us to work this out,” Paul said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said Monday that he would not agree to enter formal negotiations with Republicans until the House passed a clean, six-week continuing resolution, something that House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) had previously said was “not going to happen.”