Republicans in Congress push for vote to
avoid shutdown
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[January 18, 2018]
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders
in the U.S. Congress stepped up their efforts to pass a temporary
extension in funding and prevent the federal government from shutting
down, scheduling a vote on the measure for later on Thursday.
For months, the Republican-controlled Congress has been struggling to
fund the government, which is now operating on its third temporary
funding extension since the 2018 fiscal year began on Oct. 1.
Democrats insist that a long-term spending bill include protection for
"Dreamers" - adults brought to the country illegally as children, who
were protected from deportation by former President Barack Obama's
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.
Trump ordered DACA to end in March and asked Congress to come up with a
legislative fix. But bipartisan congressional negotiations with the
White House faltered last week, prompting Republican leaders to begin
pushing for the passage of a stopgap measure to fund the government
through Feb. 16.
The White House said on Wednesday it supported the passage of a
short-term funding measure and that immigration talks could resume next
week.
"Let's make a budget deal by Friday and let's come back to work
aggressively on Monday and make a deal on DACA and responsible
immigration reform," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
Republicans hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate and most legislation,
including spending bills or an immigration deal, will require 60 votes
to pass.
A vote on the bill is expected to come after 2:30 p.m. (1930 GMT),
according a statement from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's
office.
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U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), flanked by
Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) (L) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) (R),
delivers remarks to reporters after their weekly party caucus
luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 17, 2018.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would take up
the short-term funding measure as soon as the House approves it.
But Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday that
there was "revulsion" among his colleagues for the stopgap proposal
in the House and that an "overwhelming number" would not support it.
At least one Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, who is involved in
the immigration negotiations, has also said he would not vote for a
short-term funding measure.
It was also unclear whether Republicans would have the votes in the
House to pass a short-term fix, since members of the conservative
House Freedom Caucus would prefer additional defense funding.
The group's leader, Representative Mark Meadows, said on Wednesday
evening that while his members disliked the deal, the chances for a
shutdown "are very unlikely because no one wants one."
(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell and Susan Heavey, editing by
Peter Cooney, Larry King; Writing by Amanda Becker)
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