Senate Democrats threatened to hold up government funding over efforts to move forward on President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border Monday.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Democratic leaders in the upper chamber wrote that if any of the 12 appropriations bills contain overtly partisan riders, they will be met with fierce opposition, causing a shutdown with the funding expires on April 28.
Democratic leaders told McConnell in the letter:
We remain committed to complying with these principles and are encouraged that bicameral, bipartisan negotiations continue in an effort to reach an agreement consistent with the 2015 Bipartisan Budget Act. However, we want to reiterate our position that all 12 appropriations bills should be completed and they should not include poison pill riders such as those that roll back protections for our veterans, environment, consumers, and workers and prohibit funds for critical healthcare services for women through Planned Parenthood.
The letter was signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
“First, many experts believe that such a border wall will not work,” the letter added. “Second, there is real concern that the Administration, put simply, has no plan to build the border wall.”
Schumer said in a statement that Democrats “hope our Republican colleagues will work with us in a bipartisan way so that the appropriations process meets the needs of the American people,” adding:
If Republicans insist on inserting poison pill riders such as defunding Planned Parenthood, building a border wall, or starting a deportation force, they will be shutting down the government and delivering a severe blow to our economy. Rather than pursuing this partisan path, we hope both sides can work together to ensure the government remains funded going forward.
The last time the federal government shutdown was in the fall of 2013, when a 16-day showdown dominated headlines and resulted in hundreds of thousands of employees being furloughed.
Source: IJR