WASHINGTON – US Senate Republicans voted on April 23 to advance a US$70 billion (S$89.31 billion) plan to fund the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agencies for the next three years, ignoring demands from Democrats for guardrails on immigration enforcement agents and their operations.
Lawmakers voted 50-48 in the predawn hours to adopt the non-binding budget resolution and send it on to the US House of Representatives, taking a crucial step forward in their effort to end a partial shutdown that has gripped the Department of Homeland Security since mid-February.
Two Republicans – Senators Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski – opposed the measure.
If adopted by the House, the resolution will allow congressional committees to begin filling in the details on how the US$70 billion would be spent in separate legislation that US President Donald Trump would have to sign into law.
The new funding would be expected to run through Mr Trump’s presidency, which ends in January 2029. REUTERS
