Congress is beginning to move forward on a plan that could keep the Department of Homeland Security from shutting down on Friday. Washington bureau reporter Michael Scotto filed the following report.
WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday agreed to begin debating a bill that would keep the Department of Homeland Security open.
The funding plan had been stuck in partisan gridlock until Senate Republicans gave in to Democrats and agreed to strip out language aimed at blocking the president's executive actions on immigration.
"This isn't the time for games," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.
The Senate now plans to vote on a no-strings-attached funding bill and then on a separate plan to defund the president's initiative to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation.
House Republicans have already approved a bill that links the two issues together, and they're not saying how they'll vote if a clean bill makes it to the lower chamber.
"The House has done its job to fund the Department of Homeland Security and to stop the president's overreach on immigration, and we're waiting for the Senate to do their job," said House Speaker John Boehner.
One obstacle House Republicans must confront is the conservative wing of the party. After a closed-door meeting Wednesday morning, some Republicans indicated they would only support a funding plan that guts Obama's immigration policy, which is currently being held up in court.
"How can you say, insist on language in a bill that a federal judge has said is unlawful? Insist on that? That makes no sense," said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
However, news that three men in Brooklyn were arrested for allegedly trying to help the terrorist group known as the Islamic State added new urgency to the debate here in Washington.
The head of the Department of Homeland Security gathered with his Republican predecessors to urge Congress to act quickly.
Before the news broke, Republican John Carter of Texas, angry with the president's executive actions, said homeland security should trump politics.
"I can't believe, however, that the Republican Congress, as much as we support the defense of our nation, would leave our borders undefended," Carter said.
Lawmakers have until Friday to reach an agreement.