(Bloomberg) — Congressional leaders reached a tentative deal on measures to fund the U.S. government and make some expired tax provisions permanent, a top House Republican said Tuesday in Washington.
Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions said the agreement on the two bills will be presented to rank-and-file House members Tuesday night, and that details on the exact costs of some provisions are still being analyzed. Current government funding is set to expire at the end of the day Wednesday, and lawmakers will need to pass a stopgap bill to avoid a shutdown while they debate the full-year bill.
House Speaker Paul Ryan's spokeswoman AshLee Strong disputed Sessions' statement.
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"Negotiations continue and there is no deal yet," she said in an e-mail. Two Senate Democratic aides who spoke on condition of anonymity also said an agreement was not complete. Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, declined to comment.
Sessions wouldn't discuss specifics, including whether lifting a 40-year-ban on exporting crude oil is part of the deal. But he said, "as a Texan," then smiled widely.
He spoke to reporters after leaving a closed-door meeting of House Republican leaders, including Ryan.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said earlier in the day that a dispute over the crude oil export ban was the last major obstacle to an agreement. He said Republicans needed to decide whether to accept environmental measures sought by Democrats in exchange for lifting the ban.
Sessions said he expects the spending bill and tax package to be released at about 10 p.m. Washington time Tuesday after House Republicans meet to hear the details at 9 p.m.
"There will be a great meeting of our family. And people will see things. And when that breaks we will post the text," Sessions said.
Congressional negotiators have been working on the spending bill and an accompanying package of as much as $750 billion in tax breaks for businesses and low-income workers. A resolution was delayed by disagreements over a variety of policy changes sought by Republicans, including lifting the oil export ban.
"I think we've been pretty clear we're not going to have a shutdown," Ryan of Wisconsin said earlier Tuesday during a Politico event.
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