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(AP Photo / J. David Ake, File)
The Senate on Wednesday approved a draft spending bill to fund several key federal government departments until the end of February and avoid a partial shutdown.
The bill, which funds 9 out of 15 ministries and dozens of agencies, was passed by voice vote. He is now going to the House.
It is unclear whether President Trump will sign the bill if he approves it, as the measure does not provide for any new funding for the wall he had promised for a long time along the US border. -mexicaine. However, the White House announced on Tuesday that Trump did not want the government to suspend his lawsuit, but the president said he would be "proud" to do so last week.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said the Senate would remain in session on Thursday. "We have to see what the House is doing," he said. The number of members of the House who would return to Washington to vote after the Republicans lost a majority in the mid-term was unclear. Some 70 MPs missed Wednesday's session, almost as many Democrats as Republicans.
The measure passed by the Senate provides for a total of $ 1.6 billion for border security and funds other agencies at current levels until February 8, more than a month later. the new Congress is sworn.
In a statement, the representative of Meadow, RN.C, chairman of the conservative House Freedom group, said Trump's supporters were "ready to fight on behalf of all freedom-loving Americans." to make sure we have secure borders.
Mr. Speaker, we will help you, "said Meadows." If you veto this bill, we will be there. But more importantly, the American people will be there. They will be there to support you. Let's build the wall and make sure we do our job in Congress. "
McConnell, however, described the short-term spending measure as a" simple "bill that would show that the Republicans, who now control Congress, will end the year by not prolonging a potential crisis.
"Republicans will continue to fulfill their duty to govern," he said.
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Senate leaders worked all day Wednesday to forge an agreement on the measure as a permanent resolution, a group of bipartisan legislators sought to include the re-authorizing a popular program that supports conservation and outdoor recreation projects, the Land and Water Conservation Fund expired on September 30, and attempts to extend it r, but no agreement has been reached and discussions will continue.
The bill received unanimous consent shortly after 10 pm after a group of Democratic senators spent time singing Christmas carols to the room. Moments later, retired Senator Jeff Flake proclaimed the closing of the procedural vote, suggesting that "Rudolph" voted in the present.
Congress had previously passed legislation to fund a large part of the government, including the Pentagon and the ministries. Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services – until the end of the federal fiscal year. The current resolution will replace seven appropriation bills for various agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, the Interior, Agriculture, the State and Justice as well as national parks and forests.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Democrat in the Senate, said Trump had "taken $ 5 billion [1945-9027] hostage to try to protect our southern border – a wall he promised American taxpayers that Mexico would pay . "
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" Why should we give a blank check to a president who has shown, time and time again, that He was more interested in falsifying immigrants than he was in solving our immigration problems? "Leahy asked rhetorically. "… The fact is that the president's wall does not have votes to go to the House or Senate, and he's not in a position to practice horse trading of an unsustainable policy, unpopular and useless for another. "
Democratic Parliamentary leader Nancy Pelosi, who is on the verge of becoming a speaker when the Democrats take control, on January 3, expressed support for the guarantee of funding.
If the law became law, the fight against the borders could be prolonged until the next congress, which could even prove more difficult for Trump.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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