It has been a month-long government shutdown in the US and the Senate leaders have come to a decision to vote on the competing proposals to end a government shutdown, but the chances are slim that either will reopen federal agencies.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and top Democrat Chuck Schumer announced an agreement on the Senate floor Tuesday for a pair of test votes. The first step would be a measure that funds all shuttered branches of government through September, and includes President Donald Trump's demand for border wall funding and his proposal on immigration policy.
A second vote would fund the government till February 8 and allow for debate over border security and immigration, while also letting Trump's upcoming State of the Union address before Congress proceed.
Amidst debate over who should be blamed for the shutdown, it would be tough to gather 60 votes to advance a 100-member body.
A senior Republican Senate aide said that it was unlikely Republicans would sign on to the short-term funding bill, and that even if they did, the president would not sign it.
A Democratic said the votes "could break us out of the morass we are in," and he specifically encouraged Republicans to sign on to the stop-gap bill to briefly open government.
Even as 80,000 federal employees struggle to make ends meet without pay, a FBI agent came out and said that it affects their functioning as well because the bureau has not been able to pay workers.
