Angus King, Mike Rounds say they will not support CR without long-term budget deal in place

Sens. Angus King and Mike Rounds said Thursday that they will not support a continuing resolution and insist on passing a formal budget.

“I think we’ve got to close this escape hatch, stop voting for CRs, and tell the leadership they’re going to have to make their deals, and then we’ll get it done,” Mr. King, Maine independent, said on CNN.

Mr. Rounds, South Dakota Republican, agreed saying that each time a continuing resolution, or CR, runs out Congress faces the threat of a shutdown.

“It’s a matter of defense and it’s a matter of trying to make sure that in the future, we get our work done on time,” he said.

Both senators agreed that if Congress comes close to a deal, and wants to pass a CR to keep the government open while lawmakers finalize it, they will support a temporary spending bill. But a long-term deal must be in place first for them to even consider it.

They both said the bipartisan deal negotiated between Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Dick Durbin of Illinois is a good starting point for an immigration debate.

“We both want to see a good immigration policy put together. The proposal that Lindsey’s been working on with Dick Durbin may not be perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction,” Mr. Rounds said.

Mr. King said there’s no reason Congress shouldn’t include at least some of the existing bill in the budget, especially protection for Dreamers, or children brought to the U.S. illegally.

“I don’t know what we’re going to know in March that we don’t know now,” he said.

President Trump set a deadline of March 5 for the current program to expire. He has pressured Congress to pass a bill that includes protections for these people, but also wants it to include greater border security funding and resources.

Lawmakers have argued about whether to include such protections in the spending bill, as Democrats would like, or to deal with the issue separately as many Republicans would like to see.