Congress must finish all 12 spending bills by Jan. 30 under a funding patch that ended a 43-day government shutdown in November. The Homeland Security bill has been pulled from the House floor as Democrats seek accountability measures for Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a Minnesota woman killed by an ICE agent last week.
The Senate passed a three-bill government spending package 82-15 on Thursday, completing action on six of 12 annual appropriations bills with two weeks remaining before a Jan. 30 deadline. The package advances full-year funding for agencies including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior and Justice, and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
The vote came the same week the House approved a separate two-bill package. Together, the two chambers have now provided full-year funding to a broad swath of federal agencies, reducing the impact of any potential lapse at the end of the month.
“Our goal, Mr. President is to get all of these bills signed into law. No continuing resolutions that lock in previous priorities and don’t reflect today’s realities,” said Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “No more disastrous government shutdowns that are totally unnecessary and so harmful.”
The Jan. 30 deadline was set by a temporary funding patch that ended a 43-day government shutdown in November.
Homeland Security bill pulled from floor
The largest remaining obstacle is the Department of Homeland Security funding bill. The plan had been to bring that bill before the House this week, but Rep. Tom Cole, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the decision was made to pull the bill and “buy some time” as lawmakers respond to the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a Minnesota woman killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent last week. Federal officials said the shooting was an act of self-defense; the mayor of Minneapolis described it as reckless and unnecessary.
Democrats are seeking what Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, called “guardrails” that would accompany any ICE funding.
“We can’t deal with the lawlessness and terrorizing of communities,” DeLauro said. “We’re going back and forth with offers, and that’s where we are.”
Democratic demands
About 70 Democrats have signed onto an effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Others are seeking specific policy changes, such as requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries focused his demands on bringing ICE conduct in line with other law enforcement agencies. “There are a variety of different things that can be done that we have put on the table and will continue to put on the table to get ICE under control so that they are actually conducting themselves like every other law enforcement agency in the country, as opposed to operating as if they’re above the law, somehow thinking they’ve got absolute immunity,” Jeffries said.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus, which includes nearly 100 Democratic members, formally announced opposition to any funding to immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security “unless there are meaningful and significant reforms to immigration enforcement practices.”
Options and constraints
Cole said any changes to the Homeland Security funding bill would need sign-on from the White House. He said one possible answer would be to let Democrats have a separate vote on the Homeland Security bill, which could then be combined with other spending bills for transmittal to the Senate — a procedural approach Republicans used to pass an earlier spending package through the House.
The options available to Democrats carry significant constraints. A continuing resolution funding Homeland Security at current levels would give the Trump administration more discretion to spend the money as it chooses. And a vote to eliminate ICE funding through the appropriations process would have limited effect: a border security and tax bill Trump signed last summer is set to inject roughly $170 billion into immigration enforcement over the next four years, according to the Associated Press.
Any vote to cut ICE funding could also put Democrats in competitive reelection races in a difficult position this fall, as Republicans could use such votes against them.