Senate votes unanimously to reopen government

WTOK-TV Meridian

Senate votes unanimously to reopen government

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTOK) - U.S. senators vote unanimously Friday to reopen government agencies that had been closed for three weeks, ending a five-week partial shutdown.

Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith said she respects President Trump's decision to at least temporarily 'end the hardship the shutdown has caused many people in Mississippi and around the country'.

"We’ll have three weeks to work together to complete the 2019 appropriations process with funding for stronger border security and other national priorities," Hyde-Smith said. "This will require Democrats to negotiate in good faith with President Trump and Republicans for the common good of our citizens.”

Hyde-Smith serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and says she supports the president’s fight for improved border security.

U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker said a number of Democrats in the House and Senate have said privately they would negotiate in good faith if the president would reopen the government.

"By making this agreement with the President, congressional Democrats will have an opportunity over the next three weeks to make good on their assurances," said Wicker. "Bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate have voted in the past to fund border security structures. In the meantime, it is a relief to us all that our government will be functioning, and our dedicated federal employees will receive their compensation.”

Obviously, the vote to reopen the government was also supported by Alabama Democrat Sen. Doug Jones and Sen. Richard Shelby, who released a statement Friday.

“I commend the President for his continued willingness to negotiate and find a way to reopen the government,” said Shelby. “The Democrats have stated that once the government was reopened, they would be willing to negotiate in good faith on significant investments in border security, including a physical barrier. As a member of the Homeland Security conference committee, I hope that this continuing resolution will provide us the time to work out our differences in a fair and thoughtful manner and reach a bipartisan consensus on border security.”

The continuing resolution (CR), H.J. Res. 28, funds federal government operations at FY2018 levels through Feb. 15, 2019, and continues the same extensions as the previous CR.

The measure provides funding for the seven FY2019 appropriations bills not yet enacted, including Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Following passage in the Senate and the House, it was sent to the President’s desk for his signature. It would also continue the same extensions as the previous CR.

H.J. Res. 31, also passed by the Senate, sets up a Senate-House conference committee on the FY2019 Homeland Security appropriations measure.