House votes on 10th bill to reopen government

The House passed a Democratic-backed package of six appropriations bills Wednesday that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year.

The legislation, which passed in a 234-180 vote and would fund the government through Sept. 30, is the 10th clean-funding measure that Democrats have voted on to end the partial government shutdown, with most of them passing in the chamber.

Ten Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the latest measure. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) was the lone Democrat to vote against the bill.

GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.), Will Hurd (Texas), John Katko (N.Y.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Mike Simpson (Idaho), Chris Smith (N.J.), Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Fred Upton (Mich.) and Greg Walden (Ore.) voted with Democrats for the measure.

Democrats advanced the latest measure, introduced by House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), in an attempt to place pressure on GOP lawmakers to break with President Trump’s call to provide funding for a wall along the southern border.{mosads}

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has refused to bring forward House-passed bills for a vote in the upper chamber unless they are part of a deal between President Trump and congressional Democrats to end the government shutdown.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on two bills Thursday to reopen the government. The first would provide $5.7 billion in funding for Trump’s border wall and extend legal protections to some immigrants who came to the country illegally, for three years. If that bill fails, the chamber would then vote on a three-week continuing resolution (CR) to fund the rest of the government through Feb. 8.

The partial government shutdown entered its 33rd day on Wednesday, with tensions between parties at a high after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced she would not move forward with the steps needed for Trump to deliver the State of the Union next week.

The president has asserted he won’t sign legislation that doesn’t provide border wall funding while Democratic leaders have called on Trump to reopen the government before they negotiate on how to address securing the border.

Both parties have pointed the finger at members across the aisle for the ongoing funding lapse. The shutdown began Dec. 22 and is affecting about 800,000 federal workers who have been furloughed or forced to work without pay until funding is restored.

Republicans argue that Democrats are not taking negotiations seriously, pointing to Trump’s proposal over the weekend to extend protections for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program and temporary protected status (TPS) holders.

Trump offered the extended protections in exchange for wall funding, but Democrats quickly rejected the deal, saying the president’s latest proposal contains recycled ideas that they have already opposed.