A bipartisan group of negotiators has reached across the aisle to finalise an agreement to reopen the US federal government almost 60 hours after it first shut down. On Monday afternoon, the Senate passed a short-term spending bill after voting to end debates by a vote of 81-18, with the measure sent to the President for his signature shortly thereafter, laying the groundwork for the government's reopening by Monday evening. The bill was set to fund the government until 8 February and ... </s> Senate leaders have reached an agreement to reopen the government. Democrats have yielded and ended their delaying tactics against a bill financing federal agencies through February 8.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in exchange, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to begin debating immigration by that date.

The Senate has started a vote to advance the bill reopening the government.

It is expected to pass easily, and House approval is expected later. </s> US Senate set to vote on plan to reopen federal government

Washington DC, Jan 21 (EFE).- The leader of the Republican majority in the United States Senate announced Sunday that the chamber would vote at noon Monday on a bill to fund the government, which remained partially closed during the weekend, after the federal budget was not approved on Jan. 19.



The senators will vote on a bill to keep the Administration open until Feb. 8, Senator Mitch McConnell said.



The proposal would give Republicans and Democrats more time to negotiate the final budget for the 2018 fiscal year, although it is not clear that the 60 votes needed to approve that bill are guaranteed.



After McConnell’s announcement, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned they still have to reach an agreement on the way forward that is acceptable to both parties.



Before the plenary session of the Senate, McConnell tried to convince the Democratic opposition to support the bill by promising to push the debate on legislation to provide a solution to undocumented young immigrants who came to the US as children known as “dreamers”, if no agreement is reached before Feb. 8.



The Obama-era protection plan, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), protecting these young people from deportation will be phased out by Mar. 5, 2018.



Some 800,000, deemed “non-essential”, out of a total of 3.5 million public employees are affected by the partial government shutdown and will be furloughed until Congress reaches a budget agreement. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the budget battle (all times local):

It looks like the government shutdown will end soon.

The Senate has advanced a bill reopening federal agencies through Feb. 8 after Democrats relented and lifted their blockade against the legislation.

The shutdown began Saturday after Democrats derailed a Republican measure that would have kept government open until Feb. 16. Democrats wanted to pressure the GOP to cut a deal protecting young immigrants from deportation and boosting federal spending.

Moderates from both parties pressured leaders to end the shutdown and compromise.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats agreed to back the bill reopening government after he and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to begin debating an immigration bill by Feb. 8.

The Senate vote was 81-18 – well above the 60 votes needed. The Senate still must vote on final passage to send the bill to the House.

Senate leaders have reached an agreement to reopen the government.

Democrats have yielded and ended their delaying tactics against a bill financing federal agencies through Feb. 8.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says in exchange, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to begin debating immigration by that date.

McConnell says the end to the standoff shows “the American people didn’t understand” why Democrats shut down the government because they wanted to help “illegal immigrants.”

The Senate has started a vote to advance the bill reopening government. It is expected to pass easily, and House approval is expected later.

Democrats are aligning behind a plan to reopen the federal government as the Senate heads toward a key vote.

Several Democratic senators predict a proposal to fund the government until Feb. 8 will move forward, overcoming a Democratic filibuster. That would clear the way for an end to the three-day shutdown.

Democrats appear to have jumped on board after two days of negotiations that ended with new reassurances from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that the Senate will consider immigration proposals in the coming weeks.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Monday morning she believed Democrats and Republicans now have “a path forward.”

Florida Democrat Bill Nelson is predicting a resounding yes from Democrats on the plan.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates. </s> The Senate overwhelmingly advanced a three-week spending bill Monday afternoon that would reopen the government. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said ahead of the vote that he had reached a deal with Republican leaders and that Democrats would vote in favor of the bill.

Senators voted 81-18 to end debate and move to a vote on final passage. If it's approved, the House will have to vote on the proposal. Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, signaled Sunday that the House would pass the bill.

Schumer said ahead of the procedural vote at noon that "we will vote today to reopen the government to continue negotiating" a global agreement with the commitment from GOP leaders that if there isn't a deal by the Feb. 8 deadline, the Senate will immediately proceed to legislation dealing with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Schumer said it will be "neutral and fair to all sides" that will get an up or down vote on the floor.

The government shutdown has remained in effect Monday, after senators failed to come to an agreement to end it late Sunday night. Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell attempted to schedule a vote Sunday night that would end the shutdown, but Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer objected.

McConnell had promised that if by Feb. 8, there is no agreement on immigration, the Senate would address DACA and border security, as well as increased defense spending. "Let's step back from the brink" and stop victimizing the American people and get back to work, McConnell argued.

House and Senate lawmakers met throughout the day Sunday to end the government shutdown as the impasse continued into the second day, with both chambers hoping to strike a deal on spending and immigration that would reopen federal agencies ahead of the work week.

Sunday morning, the fragile outlines of a potential deal seemed to be taking shape. On CBS News' "Face the Nation," House Speaker Paul Ryan said the lower chamber has agreed to accept a short-term deal that would fund the government through Feb. 8 if the Senate is able to pass such a bill.

On Saturday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina suggested the bill that would fund the government in exchange for a commitment to move onto immigration after Feb. 8.

"After extensive discussions with Senators, on both sides of the aisle, I believe such a proposal would pass if it was understood that after February 8, the Senate would move to an immigration debate with an open amendment process if no agreement has been reached with the White House and House of Representatives," Graham said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday, Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement as federal agencies began implementing shutdown procedures. McConnell told reporters that lawmakers would be "right back at it" for "as long as it takes."

"We will keep at this until Democrats end their extraordinary filibuster of government funding and children's healthcare, and allow a bipartisan majority of Senators to reopen the federal government for all Americans and get Congress back on track," McConnell said Saturday on the Senate floor. Senate Democrats say they will not support a funding resolution that does not include protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children under the DACA program and spending for disaster relief. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the budget battle (all times local):

It looks like the government shutdown will end soon.

The Senate has advanced a bill reopening federal agencies through Feb. 8 after Democrats relented and lifted their blockade against the legislation.

The shutdown began Saturday after Democrats derailed a Republican measure that would have kept the government open until Feb. 16. Democrats wanted to pressure the GOP to cut a deal protecting young immigrants from deportation and boosting federal spending.

Moderates from both parties pressured leaders to end the shutdown and compromise.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats agreed to back the bill reopening the government after he and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to begin debating an immigration bill by Feb. 8.

The Senate vote was 81-18 – well above the 60 votes needed. The Senate still must vote on final passage to send the bill to the House.

Senate leaders have reached an agreement to reopen the government.

Democrats have yielded and ended their delaying tactics against a bill financing federal agencies through Feb. 8.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says in exchange, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to begin debating immigration by that date.

McConnell says the end to the standoff shows “the American people didn’t understand” why Democrats shut down the government because they wanted to help “illegal immigrants.”

The Senate has started a vote to advance the bill reopening government. It is expected to pass easily, and House approval is expected later.

Democrats are aligning behind a plan to reopen the federal government as the Senate heads toward a key vote.

Several Democratic senators predict a proposal to fund the government until Feb. 8 will move forward, overcoming a Democratic filibuster. That would clear the way for an end to the three-day shutdown.

Democrats appear to have jumped on board after two days of negotiations that ended with new reassurances from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that the Senate will consider immigration proposals in the coming weeks.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Monday morning she believed Democrats and Republicans now have “a path forward.”

Florida Democrat Bill Nelson is predicting a resounding yes from Democrats on the plan. </s> It looks like the government shutdown will end soon. The Senate has advanced a bill reopening federal agencies through Feb. 8 after Democrats relented and lifted their blockade against the legislation.

The shutdown began Saturday after Democrats derailed a Republican measure that would have kept government open until Feb. 16. Democrats wanted to pressure the GOP to cut a deal protecting young immigrants from deportation and boosting federal spending.

Moderates from both parties pressured leaders to end the shutdown and compromise.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats agreed to back the bill reopening government after he and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to begin debating an immigration bill by Feb. 8.

The Senate vote was 81-18 - well above the 60 votes needed. The Senate still must vote on final passage to send the bill to the House. </s> WASHINGTON -- The Senate advanced a bill to reopen federal agencies through Feb. 8 after Democrats relented and lifted their blockade against the legislation.

The shutdown began Saturday after Democrats derailed a Republican measure that would have kept government open until Feb. 16.

Democrats wanted to pressure the GOP to cut a deal protecting young immigrants from deportation and boosting federal spending.

Moderates from both parties pressured leaders to end the shutdown and compromise.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats agreed to back the bill reopening government after he and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to begin debating an immigration bill by Feb. 8.

The Senate vote was 81-18 -- well above the 60 votes needed. The Senate still must vote on final passage to send the bill to the House.

Both Colorado senators, Democrat Michael Bennet and Republican Cory Gardner, voted to move the bill forward.

"This is an unacceptable and disgraceful way to run our federal government. But continuing the government shutdown would have been worse," Bennet said.

“We now need to ensure fair consideration of our Gang of Six proposal. Over the next three weeks, our focus should be on building support for this legislation so that it has the sixty votes required to pass the Senate.”

“This government shutdown forced by Senate Democrats was dangerous and unnecessary," Gardner said. "I wanted a bipartisan solution. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fix many other remaining issues before us including DACA and to restore responsibility in Congress.”

Schumer lent his backing to the agreement during a speech on the chamber's floor.

"Now there is a real pathway to get a bill on the floor and through the Senate," he said of legislation to halt any deportation efforts aimed at "Dreamers," who were brought to the country as children and are now here illegally.

Earlier Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell raised hopes for a quick end to the shutdown, saying "I hope and intend" to reach agreement soon on immigration and other contentious issues -- if the Democrats agreed to the stopgap spending measure lasting a little less than three weeks.

The vote came as most government offices cut back drastically or even closed on Monday, as the major effects of the shutdown were first being felt with the beginning of the workweek.

Before the government can reopen, the Senate must vote on final passage, the House must approve it in turn and President Donald Trump must sign.

McConnell said he hopes to reach bipartisan solutions on immigration, border security, disaster aid, military funding and more by Feb. 8.

If not, he said "it would be my intention to take up legislation" addressing those issues. </s> WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate scheduled a vote for Monday at noon (1700 GMT) on a stopgap spending measure, canceling a planned vote for Monday at 1 a.m. (0600 GMT), ensuring that the federal government will remain closed when the work week begins.

“It would be my intention to proceed to legislation that would address DACA, border security and related issues. It is also my intention to take up legislation on increased defense spending, disaster relief and other important matters,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Peter Cooney)
The United States Senate reaches an agreement to reopen federal agencies through to February 8. A bill is working its way through the legislative process. The first Senate vote was 81–18.