Funding for the federal government is government is set to expire on Feb. 15 and lawmakers have been working around the clock to broker a deal on funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that can garner support from President Trump and Democrats. The spending package, which has yet to publicly be released, is reported to include $1.4 billion in funding for a barrier along the southern border and fund 45,274 detention beds, a 12 percent increase over last year’s funding. The deal would not cap the number of detention beds, a contentious negotiating point for Democrats and Republicans.
The DHS provisions in the bill, which have been the primary focus of media coverage, have over shadowed funding for the rest of the government still in need of final FY 2019. A continuing resolution funding the government at last year’s levels seems unlikely since Democrats, who have been active in the negotiations, would oppose that route. Negotiators may choose to advance the bipartisan and bicameral funding bills from the last Congress, see the funding levels in the FY19 House Spending Package column. Congress may need to pass a short-term continuing resolution to give themselves enough time to finish writing the bill and follow proper procedure in the House and Senate in order to avert another government shutdown.
