Government
House Votes to End Partial Government Shutdown, With Homeland Security Funding Still Unresolved
FEMA funding is entangled in fight over DHS budget
Lawmakers from both parties voted to support the spending package Feb. 3, sending the legislation to the White House for the president's signature and ending the partial government shutdown.
President Donald Trump has signed a package of spending bills to end the government shutdown that began Jan. 31, after House lawmakers voted 217-214 to approve five of the six remaining agency appropriations bills through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30.
They also approved a 10-day continuing resolution to fund the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security through Feb. 13 as congressional leaders from both parties attempt to negotiate a deal to rein in immigration enforcement efforts in cities such as Portland, Ore., and Minneapolis, where two American citizens were killed by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The Senate approved the package Jan. 30.
Senate Appropriations Committee vice-chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Republicans must negotiate with Democrats to end what she describes as an agency out of control. “We are going to have accountability at DHS or there will not be Democratic votes to fund a lawless agency. If Republicans refuse to make the changes the American people are demanding—they are forcing a Republican shutdown of DHS.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is part of the Homeland Security department, could get swept up in any funding gap battles. In a Jan. 31 statement, agency officials said they have been sending resources to Mississippi to supplement state and local-led efforts there responding to severe winter storms affecting much of the central, southern and eastern U.S. over the past week.
The future of FEMA itself is still unresolved, following recent staffing cuts and questions over whether more of the burden of disaster response will shift to state and local authorities in the future.
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