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U.S. House passes bill to reopen some agencies shut down in wall fight

Politics
January 11, 2019 / 12:04 AM / Updated an hour ago
Richard Cowan

12:04
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shutdown/u-s-house-passes-bill-to-reopen-some-agencies-shut-down-in-wall-fight-idUSKCN1P50DF

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted on Friday to restore funding for federal agencies that have been shut down by a fight with President Donald Trump over border wall funding, as some 800,000 government workers, from tax collectors to FBI agents, missed their first paycheck.

But a full resumption of government operations did not appear in sight because Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will not bring the House bill up for a vote. Republicans who control the Senate have so far stood with Trump and insisted that any spending bills include money for his wall.

The House bill, which passed 240-179 with only a handful of Republicans supporting it, would restore funding for the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, two of the agencies that have been without funding since Dec. 22 amid the standoff over the proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The bill provides $35.9 billion in discretionary funding, $6 billion above Trump’s budget request and $601 million above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level.

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