This was not supposed to be difficult. With the election a little more than a month away and few major issues on the table, the House and Senate were going to pass a straightforward stopgap bill to fund the government through early December and then skedaddle.

So much for that.

A combination of Senate Democrats and Republicans on Tuesday soundly rejected a first effort by Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and majority leader, to advance a temporary spending bill, leaving Congress again close to a government shutdown in the latest illustration of how nothing is ever simple on Capitol Hill these days.

“It’s just a 10-week funding bill,” Mr. McConnell said in exasperation on Tuesday as his proposal to head off a government shutdown after midnight Friday headed for defeat. The vote fell 15 votes short of the 60 needed for passage.

Unlike past showdowns over national issues like the new health care law or immigration policy, this shutdown conflict is more parochial, centered on Democratic demands for help for Flint, Mich. with its lead-contaminated water, and flood relief for Louisiana and a handful of other states.

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/us/politics/congress-funding-bill-mcconnell.html?_r=0

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