12/08/2017

GOP Leaders Tamp Down Shutdown Talk

However, Republicans and Democrats are pretty far apart at the moment on budget talks

The House is set to vote today on a short-term funding bill to keep the government open for another two weeks and prevent a shutdown.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said he is confident Republicans have the votes to pass a continuing resolution to fund government agencies until Dec. 22, buying lawmakers more time to send a tax bill to the White House and work on a longer-term budget deal.

Republicans and Democrats are pretty far apart at the moment on budget talks, though House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met with Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and President Donald Trump at the White House yesterday to begin negotiations.

Democrats want the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that protects young undocumented immigrants to be addressed, while the Trump administration is prioritizing military funding and the border wall in the longer-term spending package.

On Dec. 6, 2017, Trump said a government shutdown could happen if Democrats do not cooperate.

“The Democrats are really looking at something that is very dangerous for our country,” Trump said. “They are looking at shutting down. They want to have illegal immigrants pouring into our country.”

Schumer said in a floor speech yesterday that congressional negotiators could make headway on a budget deal if Trump would tone down his rhetoric.

“If a shutdown happens, as the president seemed to be rooting for in a tweet earlier this year, it will fall on his shoulders,” Schumer said. “His party controls the Senate, the House and the presidency.”

This article was provided to OSAE by the Power of A and ASAE's Inroads.