Washington DC - Congressional leaders have unveiled a new bill that includes compromises on funding for the Department of Homeland Security and other federal departments ahead of a quickly approaching shutdown deadline.
The bill, which was released early Tuesday morning, aims to boost defense funding for the Pentagon by more than $839 billion, and continue funding the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Education, and Homeland Security.
But most notable are the compromises on funds provided for DHS – the bill would keep funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at $10 billion for the fiscal year, mandate DHS to spend $20 million to provide body cameras and better training for agents, and provide an additional $20 million for independent oversight of detention facilities.
Lawmakers in both the House and Senate seek to get the funding package passed before a January 30 deadline.
House leaders are expected to hold a vote on the bill later this week, but as the Senate is currently on recess, they will need to vote on it in the last week of the month.
If the bill, or any alternatives that may be proposed in the coming days, fails to pass, it could lead to partial shutdown of the federal government.
Democrats left "dissatisfied" over ignored requests
Since returning to the White House for his second term, President Donald Trump has pushed an aggressive anti-immigrant agenda, and has deployed federal agents across the country, mainly in Democratic-led cities, to enact sweeping immigration raids.
The presence of agents has sparked massive protests, particularly in Minnesota, where a US citizen was recently fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
Democratic leaders have been demanding more oversight of the agency and their tactics since the shooting. While the proposed bill addresses some of their concerns, it did not include their calls to prevent US citizens from being detained or deported and non-ICE personnel from conducting interior enforcement.
In a statement to Politico, Representative Rosa DeLauro, the House’s top Democratic appropriator, said she shares the "frustration" of her colleagues who are "dissatisfied" that the bill ignored some of the "broader reforms Democrats proposed."