No clear spending deal as Congress inches closer to government shutdown
deadline
With just over a week until the government shutdown deadline, Congress is no closer to a clear spending deal. Both the White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been meeting and negotiating, but with no clear deal in sight, the possibility of a government shutdown on September 30 looms large.
The federal government’s fiscal year begins October 1, but congressional leaders and the White House have yet to reach an agreement on a spending bill to cover every agency and department for the upcoming fiscal year. The current continuing resolution that expired on September 30 is merely keeping the government open while lawmakers hash out the details of the final spending package.
However, with no clear solution in sight, the potential for a government shutdown increases. House Speaker Paul Ryan had previously pushed for a six-week stop gap spending bill that would have kicked the spending battle to November, but Democrats balked at the idea.
President Trump has thrown out a few different ideas, but there has been little progress toward a clear deal. The president has urged lawmakers to include funding for his promised wall along the US-Mexico border in the government’s spending package, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has warned that Democrats would oppose such a measure. Trump has also proposed a $25 billion package for immigration reform in exchange for preventing the deportation of young immigrants who had been shielded by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
With time running out and no clear deal in sight, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are growing increasingly concerned about a government shutdown. A shutdown would affect the collection of tax returns, millions of federal employees, and the provision of various services. Lawmakers are hoping to avert such an event, but they have yet to come to an agreement.