Congress needs to appropriate money to federal agencies each year so the executive branch can continue to function. This process is sometimes a really big deal like the 1995 battle between President Bill Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich that lead to a “shutdown” of the federal government.

But Government Executive’s Dan Friedman reports that appropriations this year are something like an afterthought of an afterthought with the health care bill:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., dangling the chance of a free weekend, wants to move off healthcare reform early next week and take up a nearly $450 billion fiscal 2010 appropriations “minibus” spending package with Republican consent.

If Republicans object, as seems likely, Reid said he will keep the Senate in session this weekend for required procedural votes on the spending legislation…

Democrats are waiting for CBO to score a compromise health proposal that would drop a national public option, but permit the Office of Personnel Management to negotiate private plans and allow some people 55 to 64 years old to buy into Medicare.

Senators said the CBO score will not be ready before next week, and Reid hopes to use time until then to take up the spending bill. But Democratic senators and aides said they expect Republicans to resist that course because agreement makes passing health care easier.

I picture Reid and a bunch of Senators silently milling around Reid’s office, interrupted by the occasional call to the CBO to see if the health care bill score is ready. Then one of the Senators says: “Okay, let’s pass this $450 billion bill to keep the federal government going so we can go home for the weekend.” Then another says, “Nah, the Republicans will block it.” And then they continue to sit around quietly, until someone says, “I’ll call the CBO.”

Can’t Senators debate a health care bill and do one or two other things at the same time?

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