WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd January, 2019) US lawmakers will gather for talks on Wednesday hoping to end a Federal government shutdown that was triggered by a dispute over border wall funding twelve days ago.
The US Senate plans to reconvene on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. GMT) to consider House Resolution 695, a funding bill that authorizes the continuance of federal spending, the senate Press Gallery said last week.
Funding for key US government operations expired at 11:59:59 p.m. on Friday, December 21, (around 5:00 a.m. GMT on Saturday), after the Senate failed to reach a compromise over the House-passed bill. The Primary sticking point has been the refusal of Democrats to meet President Donald Trump's request that $5 billion be added to next year's budget to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.
The US president has escalated the rhetoric and demonized the opposition for failing to meet his demands. Last week Trump even threatened to close the southern border if the Democrats did not approve the $5 billion in funding.
Wednesday's meeting also marks the final day of the 115th Congress and the last day Republicans will have control of the US House of Representatives. House Democrats will hold the majority in the chamber when the 116th Congress convenes on Thursday. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is expected to be elected Speaker of the House.
House Democrats are expected to propose a stopgap spending bill that will include $1.3 billion to fund government operations through February 8, the Washington Post reported on Monday citing congressional aides familiar with the matter.
Republican Congressman Mark Meadows said in a statement on Monday that Pelosi's spending bill proposal will fail because it lacks a serious attempt to secure the US border.
"A $1.3 billion Democrat wish list that includes zero money for a border barrier is a non-starter and will not be a legitimate answer to this impasse," Meadows said via Twitter.
If Trump and Democratic leaders in Congress are unable to reach an agreement this week then hundreds of thousands of federal employees will remain on furlough, possibly unable to receive paychecks if the shutdown is prolonged.
Currently there is nearly 600 miles worth of barrier, primarily consisting of 16-foot high fencing, along the 1,900-mile US-Mexico border. Trump wants to erect steel and/or concrete walls over 30 feet tall on more than 200 miles of the border that would include new and replacement barriers.
However, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published on Sunday, outgoing White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said the idea of constructing a concrete border wall was abandoned in the early days of the Trump administration.
Kelly said the administration made the decision after border patrol personnel said they would prefer a physical barrier in some places, and only enhanced technology and additional staff in others. Trump took to social media on Monday to hit back at Kelly's suggestions.
"An all concrete Wall was NEVER ABANDONED, as has been reported by the media. Some areas will be all concrete but the experts at Border Patrol prefer a Wall that is see through (thereby making it possible to see what is happening on both sides)," Trump said in a Twitter message on Monday. "Makes sense to me!"
The federal government previously closed twice this year with minimal impact. A three-day shutdown in January took place over a weekend and a February closure only lasted for a day. All three shutdowns this year involved disputes over immigration.
The US federal government has shut down 20 times since 1976 due to impasses between Republicans and Democrats.
The longest shutdown lasted 21 days in 1996 when Republicans became the majority in the House of Representatives and attempted to trim the deficit by cutting social programs, which was opposed by then-President Bill Clinton.
In October 2013, the US government went into a 16-day closure during the Obama administration, which involved a dispute over funding for the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare.
The Obama administration estimated that the payroll cost alone from the 2013 closure was $2 billion in retroactive pay for federal workers, rising to $2.5 billion if you include all forms of compensation, such as workplace benefits.
Other costs included about $1 billion in unpaid taxes that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) normally collects each week.
The overall impact of any government closure extends beyond salaries and benefits, which are typically paid retroactively at the end of long shutdowns.
The 16-day closure in 2013 sucked $24 billion out of the US economy, according to Standard & Poor.
