Government Shutdown Enters Third Day
CBS News – The government shutdown remains in effect Monday, after senators failed to come to an agreement to end it late Sunday night. A vote is scheduled for noon Monday that would end the shutdown with a short-term spending bill that would last three weeks. Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell attempted to schedule a vote Sunday night that would end the shutdown, but Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer objected.
McConnell promised that if by Feb. 8, there is no agreement on immigration, the Senate, assuming that the government remains open, would address DACA and border security, as well as increased defense spending. “Let’s step back from the brink” and stop victimizing the American people and get back to work, McConnell argued.
Schumer told McConnell he was “happy to continue the conversation,” but said that Democrats and the GOP had “yet to reach an agreement on a path forward.”
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn remained optimistic that the shutdown could be ended with the Monday vote, and he explained to reporters what he thought was behind Schumer’s objection.
“I think the minority leader wants to just give everybody a chance to chew on it and understand it, so that’s why he didn’t want to have the vote tonight,” Cornyn said Sunday night. “And on balance it’s better to have a successful vote tomorrow at noon than a failed vote tonight.”
House and Senate lawmakers met throughout the day Sunday to end the government shutdown as the impasse continued into the second day, with both chambers hoping to strike a deal on spending and immigration that would reopen federal agencies ahead of the work week.
Sunday morning, the fragile outlines of a potential deal seemed to be taking shape. On CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said the lower chamber has agreed to accept a short-term deal that would fund the government through Feb. 8 if the Senate is able to pass such a bill.
Senate Democrats have so far not agreed to support a bill that makes no concessions on immigration. On Saturday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina suggested the bill that would fund the government in exchange for a commitment to move onto immigration after Feb. 8.
Where the shutdown stands on Day 3
- Senate fails to agree to end shutdown Sunday; shutdown continues Monday
- Senate to vote at noon Monday on three-week spending bill that would end shutdown
- McConnell commits to addressing DACA and border security on Feb. 8 if those issues have not been resolved
- Ryan says House would support short-term deal
- Trump calls on Senate to abolish filibuster
“After extensive discussions with Senators, on both sides of the aisle, I believe such a proposal would pass if it was understood that after February 8, the Senate would move to an immigration debate with an open amendment process if no agreement has been reached with the White House and House of Representatives,” Graham said in a statement Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday, Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement as federal agencies began implementing shutdown procedures. McConnell told reporters that lawmakers would be “right back at it” for “as long as it takes.”
“We will keep at this until Democrats end their extraordinary filibuster of government funding and children’s healthcare, and allow a bipartisan majority of Senators to reopen the federal government for all Americans and get Congress back on track,” McConnell said Saturday on the Senate floor. Senate Democrats say they will not support a funding resolution that does not include protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children under the DACA program and spending for disaster relief.
Source: US Government Class
