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Senate vote today: First details on shutdown deal out; Republicans, Democrats hopeful of breakthrough
A deal is being discussed to reopen the government, ending a shutdown that has lasted for over 40 days.
Senate vote today: A deal is being discussed to reopen the government, ending a shutdown that has lasted for over 40 days. Revealing first details of the arrangement, GOP Sen Mike Rounds of South Dakota on Sunday told reporters that the new stopgap measure would fund the government into late January.
While the full text is yet to be released, Rounds said that ‘there’s still some items in the CR (continuing resolution) that are being finalized right now’. CNN cited sources to report that Democrats are ready to settle with President Donald Trump's hardline stance against the Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Read More: Six weeks, no pay, no deal, but Trump refuses to budge: Inside US shutdown
As per the report, the Senate would first vote to take up the House-approved stopgap measure, and then amend the bill with the larger funding package negotiated between the two parties. If the bill passes, it would have to go to the House again for a final vote. It would then land on Trump's desk for a final signature.
As per an Axios report, Republicans have support from at least 10 Democrats.
Earlier in the day, Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that the ‘deal is coming together’.
"We'll see kind of where the votes are," he added. "This kind of stuff can drag on indefinitely if you allow it to."
On Friday, Chuck Schumer-led Senate Democrats offered a deal to the Republicans, asking the ACA to be protected for at least one year. However, the deal was almost immediately rejected.
Read More: Government shutdown to end soon? Democrats, Republicans give positive update before Senate vote
"Yesterday, we offered Republicans a perfectly reasonable compromise to get out of this horrible shutdown that they installed on the American people," Schumer said on Saturday.
"We offered three things: we all vote to reopen the government, we all approve a one-time temporary extension of current ACA premium tax credits, and then after we reopen we negotiate."
“I know many Republicans stormed out the gate to dismiss this offer, but that's a terrible mistake.”
