Shutdown Resolution Likely Won’t Happen Before January

In spite of the fact that the House and Senate were in session late in the Christmas week, House members were told there wouldn’t be any votes. The Hagstrom Report says that makes it likely that resolving the partial government shutdown won’t happen until the new Congress is in place and the Democrats take over the House of Representatives on Thursday, January 3rd. The Senate will convene briefly on Monday, December 31st, and won’t be back in session until Wednesday, January 2nd. They’ll resume consideration of the House Message to Accompany H.R. 695, the legislative vehicle for the continuing resolution. The Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are all reduced to essential services. However, the Farm Credit Administration is open for business because it’s funded through fees rather than any taxpayer funds. The shutdown is going on because President Trump wants Congress to include $5 billion in funding for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Politico says Incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi can either pass a full-year continuing resolution, pass a six-bill funding package, as well as a continuing resolution for Homeland Security, or pass the stopgap bill the Senate passed. All of those options result in Trump getting $1.3 billion for border security, not the $5 billion he wants.