[driftdiver]

This bill originated in the Senate right?

How many funding bills start in the Senate?

[ConjunctionJunction]

They probably used a “shell” bill that technically originated in the House.

[OldDeckHand]

"How many funding bills start in the Senate?"

None. But remember, there's companion legislation that has already passed the House. These two bills will meet in Committee, and a conference report will be issued. Both chambers will then vote, up or down on that Report - of course, that's assuming that anything gets out of the Senate initially.

Or, Harry could (I believe) just bring the House bill over for a vote on the Senate floor. Assuming he has the cloture votes, an up or down vote could be held on that original piece of legislation.

I could be wrong on that last part - I'm not entirely sure if the Senate committee would have to vote on the House bill before Reid put it to a floor vote.

[cookcounty]

"How many funding bills start in the Senate?"

According to the US Constitution, none.

But they get around this by passing a Senate bill, then passing an identical House bill, which is then returned again to the Senate for final approval. That way, they can say that the first bill passage, was just an advisory deal.