This Week in DC
The budget impasse that has closed down most of USDA and other agencies important to agriculture for more than four weeks reaches a new stage this week as Senate Republicans force a vote on President Donald Trump’s latest proposal to congressional Democrats.
Democratic leaders rejected the president's proposal out of hand on Saturday, demanding that Trump first allow the government to reopen before they negotiate on his border security demands.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would put the measure on the Senate floor this week, but he will need the support of at least seven Democrats. Republicans control the Senate 53-47.
“With bipartisan cooperation, the Senate can send a bill to the House quickly so that they can take action as well,” McConnell said.
“The situation for furloughed employees isn’t getting any brighter and the crisis at the border isn’t improved by show votes. But the President’s plan is a path toward addressing both issues quickly.”
Trump on Saturday proposed to extend legal status for three years to the Dreamers, people who were brought to the United States illegally as children, in return for $5.7 billion in border wall funding.
Vice President Mike Pence said on Fox News Sunday the president was willing to negotiate further.
"The president is offering a solution. What we have from the Democrat leadership so far is sound bites," he said.
If nothing else, the proposal will allow McConnell to go on the offensive. He has been refusing to hold votes on a series of bills passed by the Democratic-controlled House to open the government without providing the border wall funding that Trump wants.
This week, House Democrats are looking to ratchet up the pressure on Republicans by forcing them to vote on a package of six fiscal 2019 spending bills that were negotiated between the House and Senate last year but never released or put up for votes. The bills include agreements on spending for USDA, FDA, the Interior Department and the EPA.
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