(Politico)
CAITLIN EMMA 01/20/2019 02:08 PM
Senate Republicans plan to include $12.7 billion in disaster aid and government funding through the end of the fiscal year in their bill to advance President Donald Trump's immigration proposal.
The president's plan will test Democrats’ solidarity, pitting border security funding against protections for young immigrants and refugees. Now, it will also force Democrats to vote against bipartisan funding levels, aid for disaster-hit communities and an extension of the Violence Against Women Act, according to a summary of the Senate plan, obtained by POLITICO.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Saturday said the Senate will take up the package in the coming week.
The bill, which has yet to be released, would reopen the nine shuttered federal departments and dozens of agencies through Oct. 1 and will include the full $5.7 billion Trump requested for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. It would also provide a three-year extension of protections for young immigrants enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and an extension of Temporary Protected Status for refugees currently covered.
The Senate GOP proposal includes $70.4 billion in total discretionary spending for the Department of Homeland Security. That includes a $5.9 billion funding boost for Customs and Border Protection, to pay for an additional 750 Border Patrol agents and 375 new CBP officers.
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