WASHINGTON -- Members of the Arkansas congressional delegation aren't predicting when the partial federal government shutdown will end.
Unless both sides are willing to compromise, the standoff is likely to continue, they said.
The four Arkansas Republicans in the House, all of whom took their oaths of office Thursday afternoon, expressed hope that the impasse will be resolved and that the government will reopen.
Senators also expressed concern about the lack of movement.
"I'd like to see it end sooner rather than later," said U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro.
If people are dug in, it complicates matters, he said.
"When we were in the majority, we had the Democrats saying, 'You all need to compromise.' So the opportunity to compromise is there and yet Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi is not willing to compromise," he said.
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President Donald Trump has sought $5 billion for his border wall project; some Democrats have suggested $1.3 billion for border security. Crawford said $2.5 billion might be a reasonable amount.
"This way, we're both getting a little bit [and] giving a little bit," he said.
The shutdown, which began Dec. 22, didn't derail Thursday's ceremonial activities. But tourist sites beneath Capitol Hill have been affected. The Smithsonian museums have closed. The National Gallery of Art is shuttered. Near the Mall, garbage cans are overflowing. Even the National Zoo is out of commission.
Around the capital, thousands of federal employees have been furloughed or are working without pay. The shutdown is also taking its toll in Arkansas, with federal workers uncertain of the future.
The two-year terms of all 435 members of the U.S. House expired at noon Thursday, and much of the day was taken up with organizational and ceremonial matters. The state's two U.S. senators are in the middle of their terms.
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers was the last Republican to preside over the House before yielding the seat to the incoming leadership. (He was given the gavel as a keepsake.)
Later, he took his grandson, Kaden, to the official swearing in. The 5-year-old solemnly lifted his right hand when the oath of office was administered.
"He's had a really good time and he's seen a lot of sights," Womack said. "Some of it, he won't remember, but hopefully sitting on the floor with his papaw getting sworn in as a member of Congress will be a lifelong memory for him."
U.S. Rep French Hill of Little Rock invited family members to join him on Capitol Hill for the day, including his 92-year-old father, Jay French Hill.
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Although he held an open house for visitors, the celebratory mood was dampened by concerns about the fate of federal workers.
Hill, who is beginning his third term in Congress, said it's important for the White House and lawmakers to find common ground when it comes to the shutdown.
"The Senate says they will not take up the bill Mrs. Pelosi has proposed and President Trump said in the past he wouldn't sign it, so that compels Senate Democrats and House Democrats to get back down with the president and negotiate in good faith. I hope they do," he said.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs, who was joined by his youngest son, Asa Westerman, on the House floor, said there's plenty of blame to go around for the latest shutdown.
"It's our fault. It's the federal government's fault. It's Congress, it's the House, its the Senate, it's the administration," Westerman said.
The spending bills should've been passed before Oct. 1, the start of the 2019 federal fiscal year, he said.
"You can blame the process but the process has worked in the past. We have to be able to bring bills to the floor and pass them and get them in the Senate and get them passed and get them on the president's desk."
Womack said he doesn't know when a deal will be reached.
"That's to be determined. I think the answer is really in the hands of the Senate majority leader," Womack said.
The man holding that post, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will play a pivotal role, as will the president.
"It's going to require Senate passage, whatever it is, and he's not going to put something on the Senate floor unless the president is willing to sign it," Womack said.
The latest shutdown is less noticeable than previous closures because roughly three-fourths of the government has already been funded, U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers noted.
But the pain is real, he said.
"There's a lot of hardworking people out there that are being affected," he said.
How much longer will the shutdown last?
"I really don't know, to be honest," Boozman said. "The president is a forceful personality so we'll just have to wait and see."
In a written statement, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton placed the blame for the standoff squarely on Democrats.
"Democrats may think they are damaging the president by refusing to negotiate with him on border security, but the real victims of their ideological stubbornness are Arkansans like our prison guards and firefighters who are wondering when they'll be able to pay their bills. [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer [D-N.Y.] and Nancy Pelosi should sit down with the president and compromise in a way that makes America safer and gets people back to work," the Republican from Dardanelle said.
A Section on 01/04/2019