A U.S. government shutdown enters its third day after Senate negotiators fail to reach an agreement to restore federal spending authority. Newslook
WASHINGTON — The Senate achieved a breakthrough on Monday that paves the way for an end to the partial federal government shutdown, which began midnight Friday amid an impasse over federal funding.
Senate Democrats joined in approving a Republican leadership plan to provide funding for government agencies through Feb. 8 — with a promise from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to work toward a bipartisan compromise on immigration, border security, and a broader budget outline before that new deadline.
"So long as the government remains open, it would be my intention to take up legislation here in the Senate that would address DACA, border security and related issues as well as disaster relief, defense funding, health care and other important matters," the Kentucky Republican said on the Senate floor. DACA refers to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides legal status and work permits to immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Trump announced in September he would revoke those protections. Democrats have been pushing a bipartisan compromise that would create a pathway to citizenship for those immigrants, known as "DREAMers."
McConnell's commitment on DACA was enough to win over Senate Democrats who blocked a previous spending bill on Friday, triggering the shutdown.
"In a few hours, the government will reopen," said Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer of New York. “We will vote today to reopen the government, to continue negotiating a global agreement with the commitment that if an agreement isn’t reached by Feb. 8, the Senate will immediately proceed to consideration of legislation dealing with DACA,”
The Democratic leader said McConnell has assured him the immigration debate would be “fair and neutral” to both parties. “We expect that a bipartisan deal on DACA will receive fair consideration and an up-or-down vote on the floor,” Schumer said.
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Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters ahead of the vote that McConnell's commitment convinced him to support reopening the government.
“He’s made this commitment publicly, he made it on the floor of the Senate. He was much more specific this morning than he was last night and frankly I think this is an important opportunity for him to demonstrate that he will carry through.”
The Senate voted shortly after noon Monday to advance a spending bill that would fund the government for three weeks. After final passage in the Senate, it will go to the House, and GOP leaders have signaled they are supportive.
The short-term spending measure is a week shorter than one that passed the House last week. The government has been operating since Oct. 1 under a series of short-term budget bills because Congress has been able to agree on a year-long spending package.
Most Democrats opposed the short-term spending bill sent over from the House late Friday night because it did not address immigration. Democrats demanded a guarantee that there will be protections for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and received legal protections under an Obama-era executive order. Trump reversed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in September, but gave Congress six months to find a solution.
A government shutdown could have an impact on everything from your passport application to those beloved Panda cams. USA TODAY
Centrist lawmakers working with Democrats to try and find a compromise acknowledged that McConnell's language could be stronger, but pushed Democrats to trust him.
"I do think it would be helpful if the language were a little bit stronger because the level of tension is so high," Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins told reporters Monday. Collins is one of the key moderate lawmakers discussing a bipartisan solution.
"But you have to remember that initially the majority leader was not talking about this issue," Collins continued. "The Republican leader has moved to accommodate the concerns that have been raised. And I think that the Democratic leader needs to give him credit for moving on the DACA issue,"
While the government shutdown is now on its third day, Monday was the first day that hundreds of thousands of government employees were furloughed and not able to go to work.