Wall a barrier to spending bill

In this April 19, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office in Washington. With a budget deadline looming, President Donald Trump plans a whirlwind of activities seeking to highlight accomplishments while putting fresh pressure on congressional Democrats to pay for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, even if that pressure risks a possible government shutdown.
In this April 19, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office in Washington. With a budget deadline looming, President Donald Trump plans a whirlwind of activities seeking to highlight accomplishments while putting fresh pressure on congressional Democrats to pay for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, even if that pressure risks a possible government shutdown.

WASHINGTON -- Partisan disputes over health care and President Donald Trump's border wall threw must-pass spending legislation into jeopardy Monday, days ahead of a government shutdown deadline.

In the face of fierce Democratic opposition to fund the wall's construction, White House officials signaled Monday that the president may be open to an agreement that includes money for border security if not specifically for a wall, with an emphasis on technology and border agents rather than a structure.

Trump showed even more flexibility Monday afternoon, telling conservative journalists in a private meeting that he was open to delaying funding for wall construction until September, a White House official confirmed.

The border wall money is fiercely opposed by Democrats, whose votes are needed to pass the legislation, and they are equally incensed over Trump's threat to deprive former President Barack Obama's health care law of key funds to help poor people.

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Congress must pass a $1 trillion catchall spending bill to pay for all agencies of government by midnight Friday or trigger a partial shutdown the next day, which happens to coincide with the 100th day of Trump's presidency. Trump has announced a rally in Pennsylvania to mark the day.

There is another out for both sides -- a short-term spending plan that would provide another week or so for negotiations after the deadline early Saturday.

"We feel very confident the government's not going to shut down," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday, although he said he wouldn't guarantee it. The spokesman wouldn't say whether the president was willing to shut the government down over funding for the border wall.

"I don't want to get ahead of the negotiations, but the president's priorities have been very clear from the beginning," Spicer said.

The standoff echoed similar spending fights during the Obama administration, when Republicans would push to "defund" Obama's health law over the objections of Democrats.

Trump could avert the risk of a shutdown by stepping back from his demand that lawmakers fund his promised border wall, Congress' two top Democrats said earlier Monday.

Before the White House demand late last week for border-wall money in the spending bill, it had largely been assumed on Capitol Hill that the measure would include funding for additional security steps along the border but that there wouldn't be any money explicitly dedicated for new wall construction.

"If the president stepped out of it, we could get a budget done by Friday," Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday in a conference call with reporters, referring to Democratic and Republican budget negotiators.

Schumer said on MSNBC that Republican and Democratic leaders were on their way to a resolution when Trump intervened "and he throws a monkey wrench in it."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed. She said that while Trump had promised during his campaign to build the barrier, "He did not promise that he would take food out of the mouths of babies" and cut programs for senior citizens, education and the environment to pay for it. She called the wall an "immoral, ineffective, unwise proposal."

Cost estimates for the wall range past $20 billion, and Republicans are seeking $1.4 billion as a down payment in the spending bill.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer blasted the idea of a wall while suggesting that a combination of smart technology and law enforcement, including the use of drones, would be "a much more effective way to secure the border" without hitting an impasse in Congress.

Trump said on Twitter: "The Wall is a very important tool in stopping drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth (and many others)! If the wall is not built, which it will be, the drug situation will NEVER be fixed the way it should be! #BuildTheWall."

AG: Blame Democrats

Republicans were working to finesse Trump's campaign promise, arguing that any form of border security would fulfill it.

"There will never be a 2,200-mile wall built, period," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a supporter of immigration changes who challenged Trump in the 2016 primaries. "I think it's become symbolic of better border security. It's a code word for better border security. If you make it about actually building a 2,200-mile wall, that's a bridge too far -- but I'm mixing my metaphors."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a key appropriator and member of Senate leadership, said that "there could be a wall in some places and technology in other places," implying that there would not be funding for the wall sketched out in campaign rhetoric. "I think you're going to get a down payment on border security generally," he said.

Spending on border security enhancements appears to be the "major sticking point," Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said. "Hopefully well reach a compromise there."

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Funding for border surveillance may be more palatable to some lawmakers than money for wall building, he added.

"I don't think anybody wants a shutdown. Democrats and Republicans are working really hard to try and get the spending bills done," he said. "We need to be able to sit down and work out our differences and come up with a solution so that we keep it open, but I think everybody's committed to doing that."

Some Republicans indicated they would not be willing to allow the government to shut down over the wall.

"I wouldn't risk a trillion-dollar funding bill for a $3 billion wall," Representative Tom Cole, the Oklahoma Republican who sits on the House appropriations and budget committees, told MSNBC on Monday. "There's another way, another time to get this."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday that Democrats should be blamed if the funding legislation doesn't pass in time to avoid a shutdown.

"We'll have a bill moving forward with some money in there for the wall," he said on Fox News. "If the Democrats filibuster that and block it, they're the ones shutting the whole government down."

Health care progress

The negotiations over the spending bill took center stage despite a separate White House push for fast action to revive health care legislation to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. After signaling last week that they hoped for a vote as soon as this week on a rewritten health bill, White House officials softened their stance Monday. Echoing the views of House GOP leaders, Spicer said there would be a vote on health care legislation when House leaders count the 216 votes needed to pass it.

"I think we want to make sure that we've got the votes and we're headed in the right direction before putting some artificial deadline," Spicer said.

Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had to pull their replacement bill for the 2010 Affordable Care Act off the floor without a vote last month as it became clear it would fail. Since then, leaders of conservative and moderate factions in the House have been negotiating on a compromise allowing states to opt out of certain requirements, and they appear to be making progress, although legislative text had not been finalized as of Monday.

The original GOP bill eliminated many of the mandates, offered skimpier subsidies for consumers to buy care and rolled back a Medicaid expansion. Conservatives balked, saying it didn't go far enough.

With Democrats unanimously opposed, it remains to be seen whether the deal will come together and attract the needed support. Trump talked it up on Twitter, writing Monday, "If our healthcare plan is approved, you will see real healthcare and premiums will start tumbling down. ObamaCare is in a death spiral!" The Affordable Care Act is often referred to as "Obamacare" by both supporters and opponents.

The other major stumbling block involved a demand by Democratic negotiators that the measure fund cost-sharing payments to insurance companies that help low-income people afford health policies under Obama's health law, or that Trump back off a threat to use the payments as a bargaining chip. The subsidies are embroiled in a lawsuit brought by House Republicans, and supporters of the health law warn that its marketplaces could collapse if they are taken away.

Information for this article was contributed by Erica Werner, Andrew Taylor, Catherine Lucey and Hope Yen of The Associated Press; by Billy House, Laura Litvan, Erik Wasson, Mark Niquette, Toluse Olorunnipa, Jennifer Epstein and Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg News; by Frank E. Lockwood of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; and by Robert Costa of The Washington Post.

A Section on 04/25/2017

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