The House has passed a short-term spending bill to move towards ending the government shutdown, the New York Times reports. Allowing the bill to officially reopen the government, President Donald Trump signed the measure on Monday evening, meaning that government employees would return to work on Tuesday. A bipartisan group of senators worked together to create the solution to the three-day shutdown.
The bill consists of a plan to fund the federal government for another three weeks. It also allows for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, to run for another six years. The program has recently gotten national attention for its role in the health of talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s infant son, who was born last year with a heart condition.
JUST IN: President Trump has signed the bill to fund the government through February 8th, ending the first shutdown since 2013 pic.twitter.com/Svsu4pJpFb
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 23, 2018
In a statement, Trump said, “I am pleased that Democrats in Congress have come to their sense and are now willing to fund our great military, Border Patrol, first responders and insurance for vulnerable children. As I have always said, once the government is funded, my administration will work toward solving the problem of very unfair illegal immigration.”
Earlier in the day, the Senate passed the bill by an 81-18 margin, while the House of Representatives responded to it with a vote of 266-150. According to ABC News, Democratic senators who voted against the bill were prominent figures such as Sens. Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer discussed his belief that the White House displayed a “lack of bipartisanship” while on the Senate floor. “The great deal-making president sat on the sidelines,” he said of Trump, revealing that he hadn’t spoken with him since before the shutdown started.
Soon, the govt will reopen, and we have a lot to do:
• #ProtectDreamers
• Write a budget
• Address health care, veterans, disaster relief, pensions & the opioid epidemic.The #TrumpShutdown will soon end, but the work goes on.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 22, 2018
Some Democrats also spoke about their wishes that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would have delayed the vote in order for the bipartisan group to compose a broader bill. Other concerns regarding the bill involve funds related to immigration, although McConnell has assured that there will be a “level playing field” on immigration.