Florida’s large population of military and civilian workers will be back on the job Tuesday
For Florida’s large group of government workers, a three day – unpaid vacation is over. You might have head the cheering as the Senate voted 81-18 to pass a funding bill keeping things going until February 8th.
After nearly 35 hours of the two sides battling over who caused the problem #TrumpShutdown or the #SchumerShutdown. The big news was it only lasted three days with two of them being Saturday and Sunday.
Senate Democrats dropped their objections to a temporary funding bill in return for assurances from Republicans leaders that they will soon take up immigration DACA being one of them and other contentious issues.
Meanwhile, Senate Republican leader McConnell’s commitment to quickly tackle the issue of immigrant “Dreamers” was contingent on Democrats providing enough votes now for a stopgap spending measure lasting a little less than three weeks. The measure needed 60 votes, and Democrats provided 33 of the 81 it got. Eighteen senators, including members of both parties, were opposed.
The House is moving to pass the bill and it is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump by the end of business today and it will be back to work for the government on Tuesday.
It was Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer who lent his backing to the agreement during a speech on the chamber’s floor. “Now there is a real pathway to get a bill on the floor and through the Senate,” he said of legislation to halt any deportation efforts aimed at “Dreamers,” who were brought to the country as children and are now here illegally.
The White House downplayed McConnell’s commitment and said Democrats caved under pressure. “They blinked,” principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah told CNN.
Earlier Monday, McConnell raised hopes for a quick end to the shutdown, saying “I hope and intend” to reach an agreement soon on immigration and other contentious issues — if the Democrats agreed to the stopgap spending measure lasting a little less than three weeks.
A block of liberal Democrats — some of them 2020 presidential hopefuls — stuck to their opposition. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Dianne Feinstein of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey voted no, as did Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Feinstein said she wasn’t persuaded by McConnell’s assurances and did not know how a proposal to protect the more than 700,000 younger immigrants would fare in the House.
House Speaker Paul Ryan told “Fox and Friends” Monday that if the Senate approved a temporary spending bill to reopen the government through Feb. 8, the House would approve it, too.
Quotes used in this story were from Associated Press.
