The Hill reports that Congressional leaders will not vote this week on a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government after the current fiscal year ends on September 30. 

When Congress returns from its five-week recess in September, there will only be eight legislative days to reach an agreement or much of the government will begin to shut down.  

Conservatives want a six-month CR to ensure government is funded past the lame duck session of Congress. This would prevent Democrats and defeated members of Congress, who have nothing to lose, from playing games and raising spending levels in the lame duck session. 

Democrats, of course, want to vote on the CR as close to the September 30 deadline as possible in order to bait Republicans into potentially shutting down the government or use that threat to get more monies allocated for their pet projects.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), has signaled that he would be interested in a six-month resolution, which aligns him with the conservative Republican Study Committee. According to The Hill, Reid thinks Democrats would be better off focusing on the expiring Bush tax cuts and impending military cuts in the lame duck session.