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A
person familiar with the negotiations said that votes by the
full House of Representatives on a series of bills costing
around $1.3 trillion could come as soon as Tuesday as Congress
races to complete this work before a Dec. 20 deadline when
existing money expires.
While some technical issues still have to be resolved, the
source said that major disagreements between Democrats and
Republicans have been worked out.
That includes, according to the source, how to address
Republican President Donald Trump's demand for billions of
dollars to fund further construction of a wall along the
U.S.-Mexico border.
The source did not provide details on whether such funding would
be included in this package.
If the Democratic-controlled House approves the legislation next
week, the Republican-led Senate would also have to sign off
before it can be sent to Trump for his signing into law.
Federal agencies have been operating on temporary funding since
Oct. 1, the beginning of the current fiscal year, because
Congress and the White House had been unable to agree on
full-year appropriations for agencies such as the Department of
Homeland Security, which administers many of the Trump
administration's controversial immigration policies.
A year ago, a record-long 35-day government shutdown of many
federal operations occurred when Congress failed to approve
spending bills and stopgap funding expired.
Some of the same thorny issues, including billing U.S. taxpayers
for a wall that Trump vowed in 2016 would be paid for by Mexico,
were at the heart of the just-completed negotiations.
Democrats and some Republicans complain that a wall is an
inefficient solution to stemming the flow of immigrants and
illegal drugs from Central America and other foreign countries
coming over the southwestern border with Mexico.
There are estimates that, if fully built, it could cost over $24
billion over several years.
Over the past several months, Trump has used executive powers to
rechannel money from other programs to build some portions of a
wall since Congress has balked at its funding - a move that has
angered many members of Congress.
There also were tough battles over funding for the detention of
immigrants as they await court hearings on whether they will be
deported. Details also were not immediately available on how
this matter was resolved.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Chris Reese and Jonathan
Oatis)
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