[T]he 17-member committee negotiating the budget on Capitol Hill are nearing a deal, according to Sen. Patrick Leahy, one of the members, with a week to go until another government shutdown that would begin on Feb. 15.
The Democratic senior senator from Vermont said the committee has agreed on everything apart from details of homeland security funding, the dispute at the center of the longest shutdown in United States history.
“I’d say we’re 95 to 98 percent done, but that 5 percent remains is the most difficult — I suspect it will take most of the weekend,” Leahy, D-Vt., said in an interview Friday.
The committee is composed of Democrats and Republicans from the House and Senate. Whether their recommendation is accepted by President Donald Trump, who has demanded $5.7 billion for a border wall, is no guarantee.
Leahy said the committee members were focused on coming up with a deal they were happy with, but added that he did not believe the president could afford to take responsibility for another shutdown.
“I think the president realizes he made a horrible mistake in shutting down the government for no reason at all, and I don’t think that will happen again,” the senator said.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump has been telling allies that he would accept as little as $2 billion for border security. “I think we are going to get a deal,” Sen Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told colleagues after meeting with Trump this week, according to the Times.
Many, including Leahy, also believed Trump would accept a budget deal in December, before the 35-day shutdown began.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said that she will support the proposal coming out of the bipartisan committee. Republicans controlling the Senate have largely followed Trump’s lead during shutdown negotiations.
Democrats in both chambers have said that they are prepared to support an increase in homeland security spending, but not specifically on a wall — or a fence. Some House Democrats have insisted that a budget does not increase spending on immigration enforcement.
Leahy said Friday that there was a need for more resources in some border-related areas, such as more immigration judges and better technology at existing border checkpoints.
He declined to say what was on the table during negotiations, noting that he and other committee members have spent the past three weeks tossing around proposals and the discussions have remained in the room.
“The last three weekends, including this weekend, I turned down invitations to go on the Sunday TV programs, because I’m not going to negotiate on TV,” Leahy said. “I’ve been here long enough to see so many of these things fall apart because you had people wanting to rush out saying we got this thing and we got that thing.”
Evan Hollander, the communications director for the House Appropriations Committee, was quoted by the Times saying that Democrats would not agree to $2 billion in funding specifically for border barriers as part of their compromise.
The committee could finalize a deal as soon as Monday, giving the House, Senate and president the rest of next week to pass it into law.
“I’d love someday to have a weekend off,” said Leahy. “As would my staff, who work even harder than I do.”
