As the strains of a 35-day partial government shutdown mounted, President Donald Trump announced an agreement Friday to temporarily reopen the federal government.
The agreement would fund the government through Feb. 15 as members of Congress work on a deal to increase border security and, if Trump gets his way, to fund a wall along the southern border of the United States.
The deal announced Friday did not include funding for a border wall.
What did it include? Here’s what we know now:
The deal
According to Trump, the government will be reopened at least until Feb. 15. During the next three weeks, Trump said. Democrats and Republicans will work on some sort of legislation that will fund a border wall, or some sort of barrier, along the southern border of the United States.
The vote
The House and Senate will vote on legislation to reopen the government until Feb. 15. They are expected to hold those votes Friday.
What they will vote to pass is called a continuing resolution. A continuing resolution, or CR, is legislation that funds government operations at their current spending level. In normal years, a bill that funds government operations is signed by Oct. 1, which is the end of the fiscal year. That didn’t happen last year.
CRs can fund the government for days, weeks or months. The CR that could pass Friday would fund the government through Feb. 15.
The bill heads to the president
If a CR is passed, the bill will go to the White House for the president’s signature. That could happen as early as Friday night.
What was the involved in the agreement?
According to Trump, if no agreement has been reached for funding a border wall within three weeks, he will declare a national emergency and use money from different government programs to fund some sort of barrier along the southern border.
What about back pay for federal workers?
“I will make sure that all employees receive their back pay very quickly or as soon as possible. It will happen very fast,” Trump said Friday in his Rose Garden speech.
Last week, Trump signed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, which authorizes backpay for fulltime federal employees when the government shutdown ends. That legislation "requires the compensation of government employees for wages lost, work performed, or leave used during a lapse in appropriations." The time period covers employees from Dec. 22.
Employees will get their pay as soon as possible, outside of their normal pay cycle, according to the legislation.
Lt. Cmdr. Scott McBride, a Coast Guard spokesman, said he expects personnel to get back pay within three to five business days after a vote to reopen the government.
When do workers go back to work?
That depends on the legislation that is passed to reopen the government. Employees could be back to work Monday. They will at least be back to work by early next week.
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