US shutdown to end as Senate strikes deal

The US government partial shutdown is set to end after
Senate Republicans and Democrats voted to approve a
temporary funding bill.
Senator Chuck Schumer said Democrats would support the
bill if Republicans addressed a programme that shields
young immigrants from deportation.
Democrats refused to vote for the bill unless they secured
protections for recipients of the Obama-era programme.
Mr Schumer said the three-day shutdown was expected to
end in a few hours.
"We will vote today to re-open the government to continue
negotiating a global agreement," Mr Schumer said.
He added that he was hopeful about talks on so-called
Dreamers, more than 700,000 young immigrants brought to
the US as children who were protected under the Obama-
era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca)
programme.
The Senate voted to advance the bill 81-18. Though the
impasse is over, the upper chamber still has to grant final
approval of the bill and send it back to the House of
Representatives for a vote.
The legislation provides funding to keep the government
open temporarily in the hope that Congress can reach a
permanent funding agreement before 8 February.
What does a government shutdown cost?
White House voicemail blames Democrats
"We need to move forward and the first step, the very first
step, is ending the shutdown," said Republican Senate
leader Mitch McConnell.
Who emerges as the victor?
Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington
The shutdown is over, but the immigration and budget
battles rage on. Both sides will try to claim victory, with
varying degrees of success.
Republicans are thrilled that - unlike past shutdown fights
- they emerged relatively unscathed. Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell promised an open debate and vote
on protections for so-called Dreamers, but in reality that
could go by the wayside if, three weeks hence, Democrats
force another shutdown.
Democrats, on the other hand, can claim that they took a
confrontational stand - at least for a few days - on an
issue dear to their base's heart. Whether that's enough to
satisfy the progressive hard-liners and grassroots
activists is in doubt, however. A key tell is that nearly
every 2020 presidential hopeful among their number voted
against re-opening. For them, Mr McConnell's guarantees
are written in sand.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump was largely sidelined through the
process. Democrats, and even some Republicans,
complained he was impossible to pin down and unclear
about his priorities. Still, a few days out of the spotlight
may not have been all bad.
The American public will probably forget this long-
weekend shutdown before too long. The next fight, looming
only weeks away, might be different.
Why did the government shut down?
At midnight on Friday, lawmakers failed to agree on a
spending bill. The bill was not a plan for funding for the
whole of 2018, but would have kept things running until the
middle of next month.
Efforts to reach a compromise ahead of the working week
failed in a rare Senate session late on Sunday.
Democrats wanted President Trump to negotiate over
immigration as part of a budget deal, but Republicans had
said no agreement was possible while federal government
services were closed.
Republicans wanted funding for border security - including
a proposed border wall with Mexico - and immigration
reforms, as well as increased military spending.
Why don't shutdowns happen elsewhere?
In parliamentary systems, a government that can't pay the
bills doesn't last long.
In 2012, for example, the Dutch government couldn't agree
a budget. The prime minister resigned, elections were
held, and a new government formed.
Some countries don't even need a government to function.
After its 2010 election, Belgium went more than 500 days
without elected leadership, but still avoided a shutdown.
Taxes were collected, workers were paid, and a caretaker
government passed a budget.
In France - a semi-presidential system - the constitution
sets out what happens when a budget isn't passed.
The government, it says, shall "make available by decree
the funds needed to meet commitments already voted
for" .
Really, the question isn't why other countries don't
shutdown. It's why the US does shutdown, even when
there's money sloshing round the system.
That stems from 1980 and 1981, when US Attorney General
Benjamin Civiletti strictly interpreted the 1884
Antideficiency Act.
He said, in the event of a funding gap, government
agencies should suspend operations - until money was
appropriated by Congress.