US senators reach deal that could end record shutdown

WASHINGTON: US senators reached a bipartisan deal Sunday that would resume federal funding and end a shutdown which has stretched to a record 40 days and forced many government operations to grind to a halt.

The deal between Democratic and Republican senators — just the first step to halting the shutdown — came as authorities warned US air travel could soon “slow to a trickle” as thousands more flights were cancelled or delayed over the weekend.

Outlets including CNN and Fox News reported lawmakers had reached a stopgap agreement to fund the government through January after wrangling over health care subsidies, food benefits and President Donald Trump’s firings of federal employees.

As news of the breakthrough emerged, Trump told reporters when he arrived at the White House after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida: “It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending.”

The Republican-led Senate swiftly held a procedural vote Sunday aimed at moving the legislative measure forward, and the vote appeared to have support from enough Democrats to advance.

Once it clears the Senate, it would need to pass the House of Representatives, also in Republican control, and then head to Trump’s desk for his signature — a process that could take days.

Earlier Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that if the shutdown continued, the number of flights being snarled or cut would multiply while Americans gear up to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.

By Sunday evening, the number of cancellations of flights within the United States and to and from the US had surpassed 2,700, with nearly 10,000 delays, according to data from tracking platform FlightAware.

Airports that were particularly hard hit included the three New York City area airports, Chicago’s O’Hare, and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.

Newark’s Liberty International Airport — a major northeastern US hub — was among the worst-hit. At New York’s LaGuardia Airport more than half of all outbound flights were delayed.

Splits over health care

Without a deal, Duffy warned that many Americans planning to travel for the November 27 Thanksgiving holiday would “not going to be able to get on an airplane, because there are not going to be that many flights that fly if this thing doesn’t open back up.”

It could take days for flight schedules to recover after the shutdown is finally ended, and federal funding — including salaries — starts to flow again.

Sunday marked the third day of flight reductions at airports nationwide, after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers working without pay.

According to lawmakers, the bill would restore funding for the SNAP food stamp program which helps more than 42 million lower-income Americans pay for groceries.

It would also reverse Trump’s firings of thousands of federal workers over the past month, and assure a vote on extending health care subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.

“This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren’t willing to do,” Senate Democrat Tim Kaine said in a statement.

The bill — a so-called continuing resolution (CR) to keep government funded at pre-shutdown levels — “will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay” as required by law, he added.

But many Senate Democrats are opposed to the deal, including the chamber’s top Democrat Chuck Schumer, who expressed anger that it offers a vote for extending the health care subsidies instead of extending them directly.

“I can not in good faith support this CR that fails to address the health care crisis,” Schumer told the chamber, adding: “This fight will and must continue.”