WASHINGTON - Federal government funding will run out in a week, Congress hasn't cleared a short-term spending measure to avoid a shutdown, and the latest holdup is over claims the Biden administration wants to pay for crack pipes as part of "safe smoking" kits.
A stopgap spending bill passed the U.S. House earlier this week but is stalled in the Senate amid objections from Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn over a new grant program aimed at reducing the risks associated with drug use.
"If this is President Biden's plan to address drug abuse, our nation is in serious trouble," she said in a statement Wednesday announcing her hold on the three-week funding patch.
(READ MORE: Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn votes no on COVID-19 relief, calls it bloated)
If the Senate is forced to move through procedural votes next week to send the short-term funding bill to President Joe Biden's desk, it may not meet a Feb. 18 midnight deadline, leading to a lapse in government operations. While objections like this are often quickly resolved, there's no guarantee at a time when federal government funding is on the verge of expiring.
The new program that concerns Blackburn, administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the Health and Human Services Department, would provide grant funding to organizations throughout the nation to distribute items from a pre-approved list.
Blackburn, and several other Republican lawmakers, have taken exception to many of the items on the list, including the safe smoking kits. They say those kits could include glass smoking devices, and they vehemently object to that as a government expenditure.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and the Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Dr. Rahul Gupta attempted to rebuff the claims, saying in a statement that "no federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement of grantees to put pipes in safe smoking kits."
(READ MORE: Blackburn highlights Fauci links to Wuhan, Facebook; he calls comments 'preposterous')
They added that the Biden administration is providing the grant funding as part of a comprehensive plan that includes "proven harm reduction strategies like providing naloxone, fentanyl test strips and clean syringes, as well as taking decisive actions to go after violent criminals who are trafficking illicit drugs like fentanyl across our borders and into our communities."
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also sought to calm the controversy Wednesday, saying "a safe smoking kit may contain alcohol swabs, lip balm, other materials to promote hygiene and reduce the transmission of diseases like HIV and hepatitis. And all of these harm reduction services that will be supported by these programs are intended to save lives from an epidemic that we know is devastating to communities across the country."
The statements didn't seem to convince Blackburn, whose hold on the short-term government funding bill illustrates the challenge of waiting until the last few days to bring must-pass government funding bills to the floor.
Typically, at least one senator places a "hold" on the bill, preventing it from moving quickly to a final passage vote. The senator usually does this to bring attention to an issue they feel hasn't gained enough traction, opting to threaten a shutdown unless they get what they want.
(READ MORE: Sen. Blackburn introduces bill to commemorate 9/11 by making it a federal holiday)
New framework
To keep the government funded, both sides seem to have reached agreement this week, though the precise elements of that framework have not been disclosed.
If negotiators can reach agreement on the dozen funding bills themselves, those would become public before final votes in the House and Senate.
But first, Congress needs to clear the three-week government funding bill, to avoid a shutdown when the current stopgap bill expires mid-month.
If Blackburn releases her hold on the measure, Congress would have until March 11 to hold final votes on the omnibus spending package.
If that passes, Congress will have completed its job five months behind schedule.
The delayed nature of the appropriations bills is nothing new, however.
The yearly slog has become something of a running joke in Washington, D.C., where lawmakers haven't gotten their work done on time since 1996.
Read more at TennesseeLookout.com.