UPDATED: ICE Tactics Make Partial Federal Gov't Shutdown Likely

We've just gone through the longest federal government shutdown in US history. Democrats wanted a funding bill that included an extension of Obamacare healthcare subsidies enacted during the throes of the COVID pandemic. Senate Republicans refused to budge. A 43-day shutdown ensued. Soon after the Trump administration refused to fund SNAP benefits, eight Senate Democrats (including Pa.'s John Fetterman) voted to join Republicans and end the stalemate.  Now, as a result of the controversial manner in which ICE has enforced immigration laws, at least a partial shutdown looms. 

Congress has already passed 6 of 12 funding measures for government operations. The final 6 include the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes ICE and Border Patrol. There are 53 Senate Republicans, so at least 7 Senate Democrats are needed to keep the federal government fully operational. 

Democrats have so far resisted the temptation to insist on abolishing ICE. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has asked Republicans to separate the DHS bill from the others because changes are needed as a result of the overzealous manner in which ICE has acted in Minneapolis. Two American citizens have been shot dead. They entered the home of an elderly Hmong-American citizen without a warrant and took him away, undressed, in a case of mistaken identity. They've stopped people because of the color of their skin and their accents. They've become an occupation force in which the very people they should be protected are treated like enemy combatants. 

They've somehow managed to turn "Minnesota nice" into Minnesota nasty. We should have learned from the COVID pandemic that people hate restrictions on individual liberties, even something as innocuous as wearing a mask. What is going on is far more repressive, and the entire nation is increasingly concerned that we are on the way to becoming a police state. 

Senator Schumer has offered Democratic support for 5 of the 6 bills. Just not the bill funding DHS. He has four basic demands. First, no home should be entered without a judicial warrant. Second, a general prohibition on wearing masks (I can envision numerous exceptions that would be reasonable). Third, a mandate for body cams and IDs. Fourth, a code of conduct. 

I would also insist on more training, and that it should include crowd control in an urban environment. Most local police officers have far more training than 47 days.  

UPDATED 1:15 pm: The Senate has voted 55-45 to block the spending package that includes funding for DHS. All Democrats were joined by 8 Republicans.

US Senate Deal to End Federal Shutdown

As I write this blog, the U.S. Senate is actually in session, arguing for and against a deal that will end the record 39-day federal government shutdown. This shutdown has led to a suspension of SNAP (food stamp) benefits, canceled flights across the country, federal layoffs and payless paydays for numerous government employees. Though Republicans have a majority in both the House and Senate, they have been unable to prevent a shutdown because Senate rules require 60 votes to end the debate. 

The key sticking point for Democrats has been Republican refusal to extend subsidies under the Affordable Care Act for one more year. 

Under the deal, the government will be funded through the end of January. Senate Republicans have promised a vote on the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies during the second week of December. There is no guarantee that the vote will pass or that the House will bring the matter to a vote. 

Seven Democrats and one Independent support the legislation to end the shutdown. They are Dick Durbin (Ill), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), John Fetterman (Pa), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev), Maggie Hassan (NH), Tim Kaine (Va), Jacky Rosen (Nev) and Angus King (Me). 

Although voters appear to have held Republicans responsible for this shutdown, the truth is that Democrats have been happy to cut off our noses to spite our faces over health care subsidies. that were set to expire at the end of this year. As consequential as this will be for many Americans, it is less painful than it is to starve children. 

Enough is enough already.