Democrats set to vote to reopen US government

USDemocrats yesterday agreed to support a temporary funding bill to end apartial shutdown of the federal government, now in its third day, as akey vote began in the Senate.The Senate’s top Democrat Chuck Schumertold the chamber he had reached a deal with Majority Leader MitchMcConnell — in exchange for a pledge to address Democrat concerns overhundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the country as children.Democratshad refused to vote for the temporary budget extension unless theysecured guarantees on the future of the so-called “Dreamers,” who willbe vulnerable to deportation when the DACA programme protecting themexpires in March.“After several discussions, offers, counteroffers,the Republican leader and I have come to an arrangement,” Schumer said,moments before the key vote got underway.“We will vote today toreopen the government to continue negotiating a global agreement withthe commitment that if an agreement isn’t reached by February 8, theSenate will immediately proceed to consideration of legislation dealingwith DACA,” he said.The bill to keep government funded throughFebruary 8 requires 60 votes to advance in the 100-member Senate,meaning Republicans — who have a one-seat majority — need to lureseveral Democrats to their side.If the bill clears the Senate, itwill still have to go back to the House of Representatives, since thetext has been modified since the lower chamber adopted it last Friday.Hundredsof thousands of US federal employees were forced to stay home withoutpay yesterday after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on ending agovernment shutdown before the start of the work week.Meanwhile, theStatue of Liberty reopened yesterday after New York Governor AndrewCuomo on Sunday vowed to use state funds to keep the landmark monumentin operation.Dozens of other national parks and monuments werepartially or entirely closed after Congress failed to agree on aspending plan to keep the government running past a Friday midnightdeadline.In the hours leading up to the shutdown, the Trumpadministration worked on ways to keep hundreds of parks open withoutstaff in an effort to avoid public anger, although it was unclear whichones would close.“Not all parks are fully open but we are allworking hard to make as many areas as accessible to the public aspossible,” US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said on Twitter on Saturday.Thehit-or-miss closures forced tourists and residents alike to alter theirplans. In lower Manhattan, where ferries normally embark for the Statueof Liberty in New York Harbor, out-of-town visitors expressedfrustration that the site was closed.And San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman posted a photo of a “closed” sign outside Cabrillo National Monument on Twitter.“Ihad planned to do some tide pool repeats to get some hill work in on mybicycle ride this morning,” she wrote, referring to a local bike route.“Change of plans.”The National Parks Conservation Association, anadvocacy group, estimated that one-third of the 417 national park siteswere shuttered, “including places like the Statue of Liberty,presidential homes, and other historic and cultural sites primarily madeup of buildings that can be locked.”Yellowstone National Park, a9,065sq km wilderness located mostly in Wyoming, remained open butoffered limited services, with visitor centres closed and park rangersabsent.The association warned that the lack of staff could pose dangers to visitors.XanterraParks & Resorts, a private company that manages lodges, concessionsand restaurants in numerous national parks including Yellowstone, GrandCanyon, Mount Rushmore, Rocky Mountain and Zion, said they will remainopen during the shutdown.In Washington, the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo opened yesterday, using prior-year funds.But in Philadelphia, visitors were turned away at the Liberty Bell.Duringthe last shutdown in 2013, a number of governors used state funds tokeep parks open, including the Statue of Liberty, which at the time cost$61,600 per day to reopen.At a news conference at the Statue ofLiberty, Cuomo said the site generates tourism revenue, adding that themonument serves as a welcoming beacon to immigrants arriving in theUnited States.“We don’t want to lose the income,” he said. “Andsymbolically, you can shut down the government, but you can’t shut downthe Statue of Liberty.”In Arizona, Republican Governor Doug Duceycommitted state funds to keep the Grand Canyon open, including trashremoval, snow ploughing and public restrooms, according to Duceyspokesman Patrick Ptak.“We recognise it’s a huge economic attractorand has a big impact not just on rural areas around the Grand Canyon butthe state as a whole,” Ptak said, adding that the expected cost isaround $100,000 per week.But in South Dakota, home of MountRushmore, Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard has said he would not takeany action to keep the monument open during a shutdown.