The Senate has advanced a bill reopening federal agencies through Feb. 8 after Democrats relented and lifted their blockade against the legislation. (Jan. 22) AP
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.
“This is the first time in history that under a Republican control that we’re going to take up this issue on the floor," Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat, told reporters. "There’s no way Leader McConnell would have done this had we not stood firm.”
Michigan Democrat Gary Peters told reporters that it wasn't just McConnell's promise that won over Democrats, it was commitment from his Republican colleagues too.
"There’s assurances from Republicans that they want to see this bill come forward and be debated," Peterson said, before adding the details of what an immigration bill should include are still be worked out. "There is a good faith belief that this is an issue we need to address and we should address it in a bipartisan way.”
The proposal to reopen government first and then negotiate other issues was similar to an offer Republicans made Sunday evening. But Democrats Monday said McConnell's language was stronger.
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," King said.
The Senate voted shortly after noon Monday to advance a spending bill that would fund the government for three weeks, 81-18. Sixteen Democrats and two Republicans voted against the measure.
After final passage in the Senate, it will go to the House, and GOP leaders have signaled they are supportive. House passage is necessary because the Senate changed the bill the House had previously approved.
Sen. Kamala Harris, a progressive lawmaker from California, told reporters that she didn't think McConnell's promise was enough.
"I don’t believe he made any commitment whatsoever and I think it would be foolhardy to believe he made a commitment," Harris said.
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.
It also includes a key Democratic priority: a six-year extension of a federal health insurance program for children.
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
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.
Negotiations over the weekend saw a bipartisan group of more than 20 centrist lawmakers meeting to try to hash-out a compromise they could pitch to their leaders.
After the vote Monday afternoon many of the lawmakers were mingling on the Senate floor and multiple members went up to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who hosted the bipartisan meetings, and appeared to thank her for her effort.