Senate sets votes but U.S. shutdown likely to go on

From Reuters News Service

There was no sign of quick relief for 800,000 federal workers going without pay because of the partial government shutdown as the U.S. Senate scheduled votes on competing proposals to end the month-long impasse that both faced long odds.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he planned to hold a vote on Thursday on a Democratic proposal that would fund the government for three weeks but does not include the $5.7 billion in U.S.-Mexico border wall funding demanded by President Donald Trump.

Its prospects appeared grim. The House of Representatives has passed several similar bills, but Trump has rejected legislation that does not include border wall funding. McConnell previously said he would not consider a bill the Republican president refused to sign.

McConnell also planned to hold a vote on legislation that would include border wall funding and relief for “Dreamers,” people brought illegally to the United States as children, a compromise Trump proposed on Saturday.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shutdown/senate-sets-votes-but-u-s-shutdown-likely-to-go-on-idUSKCN1PH14I