Lawmakers contesting $1.3 trillion budget bill

WASHINGTON -- Congress lurched toward a government shutdown deadline Tuesday as 11th-hour disputes flared over immigration and a tunnel under the Hudson River.

President Donald Trump continued to push for a last-minute deal that would temporarily protect certain young illegal aliens in exchange for border wall funding. Democrats were resisting the terms of the White House deal, but negotiations continued.

And lawmakers continued to squabble over the Gateway project, a costly tunnel to connect New Jersey and Manhattan that is a top priority for Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and some House Republicans but is opposed by Trump.

Those disputes and others slowed action on a $1.3 trillion all-agencies funding bill that must pass by midnight Friday to stave off a third government shutdown this year.

The "omnibus" legislation was supposed to be filed Monday, but that did not happen. Instead House GOP leaders told lawmakers Tuesday morning that they hoped to complete the bill later in the day and vote on it Thursday, giving the Senate barely more than a day to finalize the must-pass bill.

"There are some unresolved issues," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters Tuesday morning. "We're working through them while we speak, and we're hoping to close it today."

[U.S. immigration: Data visualization of selected immigration statistics, U.S. border map]

Trump pushed Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in recent days to close a narrow deal that would protect aliens enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for three years in exchange for $25 billion in border wall funding, according to two Republican officials familiar with the discussions. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose confidential negotiations.

Democrats were pushing for protections for a larger pool of aliens, but a Democratic aide said the White House was rejecting that approach. The aide said Tuesday that there are continued "musings" about a deal but that chances for an agreement were remote. The aide spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.

If the House acts Thursday, the Senate would have to gain the unanimous consent of its members to accelerate consideration of the bill, meaning that any one senator could delay proceedings and force a shutdown. That is what happened in early February, when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., held up consideration of a budget bill as he railed about the deficit, forcing a funding lapse of several hours on a Friday morning.

House Republicans left their private conference meeting Tuesday frustrated at finding themselves again up against a spending deadline, though most expressed confidence that they would ultimately avoid a shutdown.

"I don't like how we always seem to wait till the last minute up here to come to terms with spending plans," said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.

The No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, was pessimistic about wrapping up work before the Friday deadline and suggested that a short-term funding extension might be necessary to give lawmakers more time to finish up.

"Well, we'll be here this weekend," Cornyn said. "We'll do whatever is necessary to keep the lights on."

With conservatives expected to oppose the spending bill that would fund the government for the rest of fiscal 2018, through Sept. 30, Democratic votes will be needed in both chambers to pass the legislation. That empowered Democrats to make demands on a variety of issues while resisting GOP priorities.

And because the bill will be among the last major must-pass bills to move through Congress this year, it has become the vehicle for a number of unrelated priorities sought by the White House and lawmakers of both parties.

One of the most contentious fights has raged between Trump and Schumer over funding for the $30 billion Gateway project, which involves the construction of a tunnel into New York's Penn Station to supplement two aging tubes that are at risk of failing. Republicans representing the region also support the project and held out hope for a favorable resolution.

"It's not over till it's over, and the president will have the final say," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said Tuesday.

On immigration, White House legislative affairs director Marc Short told reporters Tuesday at the Capitol that Trump "has been pretty open on several different fronts on this and there's a couple different suggestions he has put forth."

In the closing hours of negotiations, Short contended that there is "a disconnect" between rank-and-file Democrats, who appear interested in a potential short-term deferred-action extension, and top party leaders, who have rejected such ideas in recent days.

"I think Democrats right now would rather use the [deferred-action] permit holders as pawns in a larger politics game," Short said after meeting with Senate Democrats.

Congressional appropriators have recommended only $1.6 billion in border-security funding for a tightly restricted set of infrastructure improvements. Barring a deal, the Trump administration cannot move forward in any significant way with the wall, the president's top immigration priority.

Information for this article was contributed by Josh Dawsey, Ed O'Keefe and Seung Min Kim of The Washington Post.

A Section on 03/21/2018

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