Congress releases massive funding bill ahead of shutdown deadline as ICE clash looms

WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators from both parties released a massive bill Tuesday aimed at fully funding the government before the government shutdown deadline of Jan. 30.

The 1,059-page bipartisan bill includes funds for the Pentagon and the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, and reduces the risks of another funding disruption after the longest shutdown in U.S. history last fall.

But the DHS measure is sure to be a point of contention for Democrats in the House and Senate, many of whom have insisted they would reject any funding bill without policies aimed at restricting ICE after an agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis this month.

“There absolutely should be ICE reforms. And if there are no reforms, I will be a resounding no to this bill, the DHS bill,” Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., the No. 4 House Democrat, told NBC News last week before the bill’s release.

The plan would keep ICE funding essentially flat at $10 billion for the rest of the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, even though the agency received an additional $75 billion for detention and enforcement from Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democratic sponsor, acknowledged that the package did not include broad reforms to rein in ICE in a statement from her office announcing the bill. But she endorsed the package, saying it would prevent a partial shutdown and argued it included some Democratic priorities.

The bipartisan agreement allocates $20 million for the “purchase, deployment, and operation of body-worn cameras” for ICE agents. And the bill “encourages” DHS to develop and implement a new uniform policy “to ensure that law enforcement officers are clearly identifiable as federal law enforcement,” according to DeLauro’s office.

DeLauro said the bill also cuts funding for ICE enforcement and removal operations by $115 million and reduces the number of ICE detention beds by 5,500.

The House is expected to vote on the package later this week. DeLauro said Republican Party leaders had promised to hold a separate vote only on the homeland security portion of the package, which would give Democrats an opportunity to object, without bringing Washington to another shutdown.

“I understand that many of my Democratic colleagues may be unhappy with any bill defunding ICE,” DeLauro said in his statement. “I share their frustration with this out-of-control agency. I encourage my colleagues to examine the bill and determine what is best for their constituents and communities.”

Democrats had called for policies such as requiring ICE agents to wear identification and interdiction masks during enforcement operations, as well as measures to prevent the detention and deportation of U.S. citizens.

“The Homeland Security funding bill is not limited to ICE. If we allow a funding disruption, TSA officers will be forced to work without pay, FEMA assistance could be delayed, and the U.S. Coast Guard will be affected,” DeLauro added.

So far, the House has passed eight of the 12 funding bills required for a full year. Finalizing this file would complete the appropriations work for the chamber, four months after the start of the new fiscal year.

The Senate, which returns to Washington next week, just days before the deadline, has passed half of the 12 funding bills. It will take 60 votes to avoid a partial government shutdown affecting remaining agencies starting January 31. The Republicans have 53 senators.

The bipartisan agreement released Tuesday also includes a set of health care changes that are widely supported by both parties, including increased oversight of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the middlemen who oversee prescription drug benefits.

Unlike the House, where the Republican majority could likely pass the controversial DHS bill on its own, the Senate will need Democratic support, requiring 60 votes to pass it.

“We can’t vote for anything that actually adds more money and doesn’t limit ICE,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, said on CNN on Sunday. “I can’t speak for everyone, but if I have to shut down the part of ICE – just to be clear, we’re not shutting down the rest of the government – the part of ICE that is causing this kind of harm, the racial profiling of people, the terrorizing of our cities, I know the implications of that. I know the potential political implications of that.”

“But we can’t continue to fund these types of goon squads that spread across the country just to enforce Stephen Miller’s weird political position that we have to punish blue cities,” he said.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, said before the bill was released that he would not vote to give “one cent to support this illegal and brutal Trump ICE operation” without “meaningful reforms to curb this lawless ICE operation.”

“There was a federal judge who said this week that ICE agents were violating people’s constitutional rights, right? They were preventing them from participating in protected peaceful protests,” he said on ABC on Sunday. “So, in my opinion, there needs to be a step change. I don’t anticipate this administration doing that at this time. So, I’m saying I’m not going to provide any funding.”