By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Tuesday said the House will pass a 30 day stop-gap spending bill this week as a way to ensure that the federal government is fully operational as Congress completes its work on the 2010 fiscal year spending bills.

At his weekly briefing, Hoyer said he hopes that Congress can complete work on all 12 of the FY'10 spending bills by the end of October.

The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

So far, the House has passed all 12 of its FY'10 spending bills while the Senate has passed only 5 of its 12 spending bills.

Once each chamber passes its version of a spending bill, a House-Senate conference panel must reconcile the two versions and draft a compromise which must be approved by both chambers.

If all 12 spending bills are not signed into law by Oct. 1, then a stop-gap spending bill is needed to keep the federal government fully funded.

On other matters, Hoyer said he strongly supports efforts to overhaul the regulation of the financial industry and is working with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank to bring a plan to the House floor.

"We need to move forward with reform," he said.

"We expect regulatory reform to move ahead," he added.

Hoyer said he believes it is more important for financial regulators to work with "focus and energy" then to devise a perfect "structure."

Hoyer sidestepped a question about his views on the idea being floated by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd to consolidate the four federal banking regulators into one entity.

Hoyer said the House will take up later Tuesday a 13 week extension of unemployment benefits for residents of 25 states that have especially high unemployment rates.

Finally, Hoyer said Democrats remain determined to pass health care reform legislation this year, adding that he continues to support a public option.

"All three of our (the House) bills include a public option," he said.

"We're not talking about dropping the public option," he added.

Hoyer said Democrats are trying to engage Republicans on health care. "We've made a number of outreaches to Republicans," he said.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **