With Health Care For 9 Million Children On The Line, Congress Barrels Toward Shutdown
The House passed the short-term funding bill after threats from the Freedom Caucus died down, but it appears unlikely it will get through the Senate. The legislation, which includes a six-year extension for the Children's Health Insurance Program, would fund the government through Feb. 16.
The New York Times:
House Passes Short-Term Spending Bill, Setting Up Shutdown Battle In Senate
The House approved a stopgap spending bill on Thursday night to keep the government open past Friday, but Senate Democrats — angered by President Trump’s vulgar aspersions and a lack of progress on a broader budget and immigration deal — appeared ready to block the measure. The House approved the measure 230 to 197, despite conflicting signals by President Trump sent throughout the day and a threatened rebellion from conservatives that ended up fizzling. (Kaplan and Stolberg, 1/18)
The Associated Press:
Congress Likely Racing Toward A Government Shutdown
A bitterly-divided Congress hurtled toward a government shutdown this weekend in a partisan stare-down over demands by Democrats for a solution on politically fraught legislation to protect about 700,000 younger immigrants from being deported. Democrats in the Senate have served notice they will filibuster a four-week, government-wide funding bill that passed the House Thursday evening, seeking to shape a subsequent measure but exposing themselves to charges they are responsible for a looming shutdown. (1/19)
The Washington Post:
House Approves Bill To Keep Government Open As Senate Democrats Take Heat For Threatening To Block It
Senate GOP leaders prepared to force Democrats into a series of uncomfortable votes, aimed at splitting their ranks by pitting moderates from states that Trump won against party leaders and the handful of outspoken liberals considering a run for the presidency. For one, Republicans attached a long-term extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program and delays to several unpopular health-care taxes. The bill does not include protections for “dreamers,” immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children or who overstayed their visas as children, a top Democratic priority. (DeBonis, O'Keefe and Werner, 1/18)
The Washington Post:
How CHIP Will Be Affected If The Government Shuts Down
If Congress fails to reach a deal to avert a government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, federal workers won't be the only ones worrying. Parents of the 9 million children insured through the Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, are panicking because funding for the program has nearly run out. Republicans in Congress thought they had a grand solution: They pitched Democrats a deal to do a one-month extension of overall government funding and a six-year extension of CHIP money. But President Trump tweeted Thursday morning that was a bad idea. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) says he spoke with Trump and the president is now on board, but confusion abounds in the Capitol. (Long, 1/18)
The Associated Press:
Government Scientists Scramble To Save Research Ahead Of Shutdown That Could Ruin Studies
The nation's premier medical research institute is in "a scramble" to prepare for a partial government shutdown that could ruin costly experiments and leave sick patients unable to enter cutting-edge studies, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said Thursday. Fauci stressed that patients currently in NIH-run studies — including those at the research-only hospital often called the "house of hope" — wouldn't be adversely affected even if President Donald Trump and Congress don't reach a budget deal to avert a shutdown at midnight Friday. (Neergaard, 1/18)