Shutdown over wall averted
US CONGRESSIONAL negotiators reached agreement to prevent a government shutdown and finance construction of new barriers along the US-Mexico border, overcoming a late-stage hang-up over immigration enforcement issues that had threatened to scuttle the talks.
Republicans were desperate to avoid another bruising shutdown. They tentatively agreed on Monday night to far less money for President Donald Trump’s border wall than the White House’s $5.7 billion (R78.4bn) wish list, settling for a figure of nearly $1.4bn, congressional aides said. The funding measure is for this fiscal year, which ends on September 30.
The agreement means 88km of new fencing – constructed with metal slats instead of a concrete wall – but far less than the 346km the White House demanded in December. The fencing will be built in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
“With the spectre of another shutdown this close, what brought us back together was we didn’t want that to happen” again, said Senate Appropriations Committee chairperson Richard Shelby, (Republican, Alabama).
Details will be officially released later, but the pact came in time to alleviate any threat of a second partial government shutdown this weekend.
“Our staff are working out the details,” said House Appropriations Committee chairperson Nita Lowey, (Democrat, New York).
The pact also includes increases for new technologies such as advanced screening at border entry points, humanitarian aid, and additional customs officers.
This weekend, Shelby pulled the plug on the talks over Democratic demands to limit immigrant detentions, frustrating some of his fellow negotiators, but Democrats yielded ground on that issue in fresh talks on Monday.
Asked if Trump would back the deal, Shelby said: “We believe from our dealings with them and the latitude they’ve given us, they will support it. We certainly hope so.”
Trump travelled to El Paso, Texas, for a rally on Monday night focused on immigration and border issues. He has been adamant that Congress approve money for the border wall.
The recent shutdown left 800 000 government workers without pay cheques, forced postponement of the State of the Union Address and sent Trump’s poll numbers tumbling. | AP