Short-term funding for security draws look

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, to talk about the impasse over advancing the Homeland Security budget because of Republican efforts to block President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration. Reid is wearing special glasses as he recovers from injuries suffered in a violent exercise accident in December.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, to talk about the impasse over advancing the Homeland Security budget because of Republican efforts to block President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration. Reid is wearing special glasses as he recovers from injuries suffered in a violent exercise accident in December.

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans are looking at a short-term funding measure to keep the Department of Homeland Security operating, although it would allow immigration policies they oppose to remain in place for now, officials said Thursday.

Under the emerging proposal, the agency would receive funds for up to a month. The House also would approve a separate measure to allow normal agency operations through the end of the budget year on Sept. 30, but only in exchange for immigration-related concessions from President Barack Obama.

The officials who described events in the House did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to pre-empt a formal announcement.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada did not rule out accepting a short-term funding bill if the House cleared it.

Without legislation signed into law by the weekend, the Homeland Security Department would go into a partial shutdown beginning Monday. An estimated 30,000 Homeland Security employees would be furloughed, and another 200,000 would work without pay for the duration of the shutdown.

Many Republicans have said they fear they would pay a political price for even a partial shutdown at the department, which has major anti-terrorism responsibilities.

The proposal under consideration by House Republicans marked a retreat from their long-standing insistence that no money be approved for the department as long as immigration orders from the president remained in place.

With directives issued in 2012 and earlier this year, Obama largely eliminated the threat of deportation for almost 5 million illegal aliens, including some brought to the United States as youngsters by their parents.

Republicans have said the president is acting unconstitutionally, and a federal judge in Texas recently issued an order that temporarily blocked the administration from carrying out Obama's policy. The White House has appealed that ruling, and Obama said Wednesday that he would take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Earlier Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, offered no hint of a change in the GOP strategy of tying the immigration issue to funds at Homeland Security.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said days earlier that he was moving to decouple the two issues.

A full Senate vote on its funding measure is expected within a day or two.

Information for this article was contributed by Charles Babington, Andrew Taylor and Laurie Kellman of The Associated Press.

A Section on 02/27/2015

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