House lawmakers will vote on legislation Friday to fund the Department of Homeland Security through March 19 with a bill that does not block President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
Congress has already funded the rest of the government in December, but the DHS funding was cut short to provide an opportunity for further debate on President Obama’s executive actions, including a program that defers deportation for immigrant children and others.
Senate Democrats had balked at a recently introduced funding bill that included prohibitions against President Obama’s executive actions but have since passed a “clean” legislation that lacked those prohibitions.
DHS would have to furlough 30,000 employees if Congress does not pass a funding bill by the end of Feb. 27 – while the remaining 85 percent of employees would have to work without pay, according to the agency.
Funding expires at the end of Feb. 27 if Congress does not pass any funding legislation.
Another twist comes from U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who issued a temporary injunction against implementing the new programs on Feb. 16. The administration has said it would appeal the decision, but will suspend those implementation programs pending a new decision.
The partial shutdown would also throw into disarray grant programs, contracts at the Coast Guard and other agencies, and the management of cybersecurity efforts, according to DHS.
