Temporary deal reached to reopen government

President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he and congressional leaders have reached a deal to temporarily re-open the government for three weeks. The short-term funding deal, which will last until February 15, does not include the president’s request for a border wall. A bipartisan panel will work on a border security package in the meantime.

“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and re-open the federal government,” Trump said during a press conference in the White House Rose Garden.

Trump said during a press conference that the more than 800,000 federal employees who went without pay during 35-day partial shutdown will receive backpay “as quickly as possible.”

Last Saturday, the president tried to use the Dreamers’ legal status as a bargaining chip to get funding for a border wall, but congressional Democrats rejected the proposal. Yesterday, two funding proposals to re-open the government failed on the Senate floor, sparking a new round of negotiations for a short-term fix.

Arizona ranked high on the list of states impacted by the partial shutdown. WalletHub pulled five key metrics to make its evaluation that put Arizona in the top 10, including share of federal jobs, federal contract dollars per capita, percentage of families receiving food stamps, real estate as gross state product, and access to national parks.

Grand Canyon National Park, however, remained open due to a state plan led by Gov. Doug Ducey that combines efforts from the National Park Service, Arizona Office of Tourism and Arizona State Parks to keep the park running. A park service report shows more than 6.2 million people visited the Grand Canyon National Park in 2017 and spent $667 million in surrounding communities near the park.

Lorna Romero

Add comment

Subscribe to the Dry Heat

Get updates on the most important news delivered right to your email. Fully personalized options. No SPAM. Unsubscribe anytime.

Sign Me Up!

Let’s Get Social

Chamber Business News wants to connect with you. Follow us, tweet, share, post, comment... however you get social is the perfect way to connect.