The GOP-controlled House of Representatives passed a cynical, short-term spending bill on Thursday in a 230-197 vote, which would fund the government through Feb. 16.
The House passes a short-term spending bill to keep the government open until February, but the path in the Senate is unclear https://t.co/kFnARtqMVj pic.twitter.com/fEVqZVM3CB
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 19, 2018
The measure still needs to clear the Senate, which will be a tougher hurdle to overcome as the clock continues clicking toward a possible government shutdown. That’s because, despite the GOP effort to use CHIP children as political pawns, Democrats aren’t likely to bite.
According to the New York Times, Dems are already “unifying around a ‘no’ vote.” More from the Times:
But in the Senate, at least a dozen Democratic votes will be needed to approve the measure on Friday, and there is little chance those will materialize. Democrats are intent on securing concessions that would, among other things, protect from deportation young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, increase domestic spending, aid Puerto Rico and bolster the government’s response to the opioid crisis.
…
In the Senate, Democrats were unifying around a “no” vote. If the stopgap bill passes, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, said, “there will be no incentive to negotiate, and we’ll be right back here in a month with the same problems at our feet.”
Despite the GOP efforts, even the president wasn’t on the same page as his party on Thursday, tweeting out comments that contradict the bill Republicans are hoping to advance through Congress.
CHIP should be part of a long term solution, not a 30 Day, or short term, extension!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
Republicans have been ignoring calls by Democrats to reauthorize CHIP for months, and their cynical attempt to use these children as pawns now, with the government hours away from shutting down, is fooling nobody.
If the government shuts down tomorrow at midnight, the American people know who to blame, and it’s not the minority party in Congress.
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