Partial Federal Government Shutdown Seems Likely Jan. 31

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., one of those senators, wrote, "I will vote against proceeding with this week’s bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security because ICE needs to significantly change the way it is conducting itself -- and Congress should be doing everything it can to make sure that happens."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said, "The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public. People should be safe from abuse by their own government."

If a partial government shutdown begins Jan. 31, the Bureau of Industry and Security will proceed as normal, as the funding for the Commerce Department has already been approved by Congress. But the Office of Foreign Assets Control, under the Treasury Department, would be affected, because Treasury is in the group of bills yet to pass, as is the State Department, whose Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation makes sanctions designations.

Some partner government agencies that regulate imports, such as the EPA, the Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA, already have been funded. But the FDA would be affected if all six funding packages fail to pass the Senate.

During the last government shutdown, CBP continued issuing rulings, not just processing imports.

The House of Representatives passed funding bills for the Defense Department, State Department, Transportation Department, Education Department, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Financial Services in one package, and passed funding for Homeland Security in another bill, because so many Democrats opposed the DHS funding provisions.

But they stitched the two packages together to make it harder for Democrats to reject DHS funding and fund the rest of the government.

Schumer asked Republicans to vote with Democrats to split the packages apart. "Senate Democrats have made clear we are ready to quickly advance the five appropriations bills separately from the DHS funding bill before the January 30th deadline. The responsibility to prevent a partial government shutdown is on [Majority] Leader [John] Thune and Senate Republicans. If Leader Thune puts those five bills on the floor this week, we can pass them right away. If not, Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown," he said in a statement.

If the Senate did that, it's likely that there would be a short-term shutdown covering all these departments, because the House is on recess and isn't coming back until Feb. 2.

Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said on the Senate floor in the afternoon of Jan. 26 that the packages that cover all the rest of the government reflect a lower level of spending than the continuing resolutions the government has been operating under, and that senators worked hard to "reconcile House and Senate priorities for these bills, as well as those of the administration. This was not an easy task."

She noted that both packages passed the House with bipartisan support. (Only seven House Democrats voted to fund DHS).

"It is the Senate's turn to show that we can work together in a bipartisan manner to finish the job. It is so important that we do so because looming is another harmful, unnecessary and disastrous government shutdown if we do not complete our work," she said. "The tragic death of Alex Pretti has refocused attention on the Homeland Security bill and I recognize that, and share the concerns."

She said that there are "many safeguards" in the bill, and said more than 80% of the funding is to cover areas other than immigration and border control, such as paying TSA staff, responses for natural disasters under FEMA, the Coast Guard and cybersecurity.

"I hope we can come together in a constructive way to get this done and to ensure that we do not lurch into a dangerous and detrimental government shutdown," she said.