The House on Wednesday passed legislation to provide funding through September for shuttered federal agencies aside from homeland security, which has gotten tied up in the standoff over President Trump’s desired border wall.
The House passed the bill on a 234-180 vote. Ten Republicans voted yes, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was the only Democrat to vote no.
Democratic leaders said the bills were the products of negotiations between House members and senators last year, when Republicans controlled both chambers.
“Neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, but we compromised for the betterment of the United States,” said Rep. Nita Lowey, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee.
The package of six bills provides full-year funding for agencies affected by the partial government shutdown like the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Justice, along with the Treasury Department and the IRS.
Republicans, though, said the negotiations were incomplete and Democrats finalized the package without full approval from the GOP.
“Democrats have failed to come to the table to offer a serious compromise solution to reopen the government, pay our federal employees, and fund border security,” said Rep. Kay Granger, the top Republican on the appropriations committee.
House Democrats are also planning to vote on new legislation this that would extend current-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security through February — a bill that would not give Mr. Trump the $5.7 billion he’s seeking for the border wall.
The Senate, meanwhile, is planning to hold two votes on Thursday. One is on Mr. Trump’s recently-unveiled proposal that includes $5.7 billion for the wall, along with temporary protections for illegal immigrant “Dreamers” and immigrants who have fled war-torn countries.
The second is on a Democratic proposal to re-open the government for a few weeks in a bid to jump-start negotiations on border security. It’s unclear whether either plan will secure enough votes to pass.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.