With just over a week until another spending deadline, negotiators are still working furiously around the clock to finish their work on the remaining six bills, and a series of sticking points remain including over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
“I think Homeland we knew was going to be challenging, and there are a couple of other outstanding issues in a couple of the other bills, but hopefully we can work through them,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the GOP whip.
A source familiar with the conversation told CNN that Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, laid out the situation during a GOP lunch. She told colleagues that there were still issues to work through on the Homeland bill, legislation that is historically difficult to get across the finish line and even more complicated this year because immigration has emerged as a top campaign issue.
“Hopefully people will understand that this is about keeping our borders secure and not about a goddamn campaign issue in the fall,” said Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana.
Democrats are also less open to some Republicans’ push for riders in this bill since they feel they gave Republicans a series of border policy changes that they rejected out of hand earlier this year.
One of the options on the table is separating the Homeland Security funding bill.
Another issue that has emerged for some Democrats in this tranche of spending bills is funding for UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees following reports by Israel that some staff played a role in Hamas’ October 7 attack. Republicans are largely fighting to ensure no money flows to the agency at all in this spending package. The US has paused funding for UNRWA as a UN review…
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