Senate passes 3-bill package to fund parts of government, sending it to Trump

Washington — The Senate passed a three-bill package Thursday that funds parts of the government, clearing the legislation before leaving Washington for a weeklong recess ahead of the end-of-month deadline to avert a partial shutdown. 

The Senate approved the package in a 82 to 15 vote, sending it to President Trump’s desk. 

It includes funding for the Departments of Commerce, Justice and Interior, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency. 

When the Senate returns, it will have six remaining appropriations bills to get across the finish line before Jan. 30, when funding expires for parts of the government. The House approved a package containing two of those measures on Wednesday. 

After the vote in the House, the lower chamber has passed eight of the 12 annual spending measures, leaving the most controversial measures to be resolved in the final days before the shutdown deadline. Those measures cover the Departments of Defense; Transportation; Housing and Urban Development; Labor; Health and Human Services; Education; and Homeland Security. 

Homeland Security funding was expected to be included in the package that cleared the House this week, but those plans hit a snag after an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minnesota. Democrats said they will not support a bill without accountability measures for the law enforcement agency. 

“As we approach the appropriations process related to Homeland Security funding, Democrats in the House and the Senate have demanded changes to the way in which ICE conducts itself,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, told reporters Wednesday. 

Lawmakers are still negotiating the bill, which could end up as a standalone piece of legislation, with the remaining measures packaged together.