Senate Passes Funding Deal to Avert Government Shutdown

The Senate of the U.S. has passed an important funding bill that would help to avoid a government shutdown

ContentsTemporary shutdown looms as House approves bill next weekDemocrats’ drive to tighten immigration enforcementBi-partisan approval but republican criticism of concessionsThe bill that passed late Friday by a 71-29 vote will allow the government to continue operating temporarily, although there is a slight partial shutdown that can occur before the House takes the vote on the bill

A new set of limitations on federal immigration actions is also under negotiation by the lawmakers, which also sparked controversy, particularly among the Democrats.

Temporary shutdown looms as House approves bill next week

Although the Senate has taken a step to prevent a complete shutdown, the state of affairs is still strained

It has been reported that a temporary partial shutdown may take place this weekend until the time the House formally passes the funding bill

Homeland Security includes major funding allocation in the financing deal, whereas Congress will have a discussion on new restrictions on federal immigration raids

It is particularly worth noting that one of the deals between President Trump and Senate Democrats was made after the death of two protesters in Minneapolis as a result of federal agent activity.

Democrats’ drive to tighten immigration enforcement

Without getting more vigorous in limiting federal immigration enforcement, democrats are crying foul over government expenditure on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has pointed out how new limits need to be placed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), by pointing out that these could be reasonable demands under the principle of basic law enforcement

The most outstanding requests are that the agents should be required to wear body cameras, to identify themselves, and drop masks when they are on duty

Democrats are also demanding that local law enforcement become more engaged in immigration arrests and that clear criteria be established concerning the warrants and conduct.

Bi-partisan approval but republican criticism of concessions

Although there has been a broadly bipartisan support of the funding bill, there have been criticisms of the concessions made by President Trump to the Democrats by some senate republicans

This dispute may postpone further negotiations within the next two weeks. Of special interest is the republicans who are highly concentrated on the reforming of the ICE operational activities, with some worrying that the new proposals might cripple the federal immigration enforcement operations

However, Republicans do have some support to have more localized control over actions on immigration enforcement.

The Senate has passed the budget bill, but a major political setback is still in place

The measure will be considered in the House next week, and a temporary shutdown threatens the weekend

Although President Trump and Senate Democrats have agreed on the issues over immigration enforcement, the negotiation will not end as the Republicans are opposed to it, and the Democrats are demanding more accountability

With the turn of events, it becomes apparent that the two will be forced to collaborate in order to establish a lasting solution.