02/01/2019
Lawmakers began working to avoid yet another government shutdown. Fox’s Chad Pergram explains in today’s “The Speaker’s Lobby” …
I’m Chad Pergram with the Speaker’s Lobby.
House and Senate members are now meeting in a conference committee to try to avert a government shutdown and forge an agreement on border security.
We’ve heard rattling around about the inclusion of DACA or immigration reform to help foster an accord. But Fox is told there is simply not enough time to mess with those nettlesome issues in this conference committee.
A senior Congress source tells Fox quote…”Taking a complex issue which caused a 35 day shutdown and then combining it with another complex issue like immigration which the sides have never been able to agree on and resolving it magically here just won’t happen..
The most significant issue which could derail an agreement: Time.
February 15th is the concrete deadline to fund the government. But in fact the true deadline is Sunday February 10th. That’s because the House now requires a full 72 hours before considering legislation. That would give the House just enough time to turn the bill around and pass it quickly, observing the three-day marker. Keep in mind, the measure must still go to the Senate.
Time could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory here.
“I’m not expecting a lot from this conference committee,” said one senior source.
With the Speaker’s Lobby, Chad Pergram. Fox News
Follow Chad on Twitter: @ChadPergram
