House-Senate negotiators seemed hopeful Thursday that they can avoid another partial government shutdown next week.
Senate Appropriations Chair Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said after a meeting with President Trump that the conference committee is working on substantive negotiations on the main sticking point, immigration spending, and that he thinks the President will sign it.
“This is the most positive I’ve been or I’ve seen in the talks since, oh gosh, maybe ever,” he said, according to CQ.
Some House Democrats remained cautious, the article reported.
“Nothing has been decided and nothing is finalized,” Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) said.
Shelby predicted the conferees could produce a bill by Monday, which would leave little time for error, with the current spending bill set to expire next Friday.
“We hope we’ve got a deal,” Shelby told reporters. “If we haven’t got a deal, we probably won’t get a deal.”
DOD photo by Reese Brown
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