Congress will once again try to hammer out an agreement with the Trump administration to finalize a $1.3 trillion spending bill by midnight Friday and avoid another government shutdown.
The text of the bill is expected to be released later today.
The bill would implement the spending agreement reached last month, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are trying to include several controversial policy riders into the legislation, such as protections for young immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and a plan for federal subsidies to cover out-of-pocket costs under the Affordable Care Act, according to the Associated Press.
The DACA program allows undocumented Americans who were brought to the country as young children by their parents to continue their employment, education, training and research in the U.S. In September, President Donald Trump ordered the DACA program to end in March, but a federal court has kept the program in place for now.
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Also at issue: Two abortion-related provisions. The first provision, by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., would ensure that Planned Parenthood receives a share of federal family planning grants. The other, supported by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would strengthen protections for healthcare providers who refuse to provide abortions for moral or religious reasons.
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Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, told The Hill that negotiations over the most controversial provisions stalled in recent days, but she wouldn’t provide further details. Meanwhile, the publication reports that the Trump administration is open to extending DACA protections for three years if the spending bill includes funding for the border wall for three years.
The House hopes to vote on the bill by Wednesday, which gives the Senate only two days to come to an agreement and avoid another government shutdown.