Deal to End Shutdown on Track          11/10 06:10

   A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track Monday 
after a handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to break the 
impasse in what has become a deepening disruption of federal programs and 
services, the longest in history.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- A legislative package to end the government shutdown 
appears on track Monday after a handful of Senate Democrats joined with 
Republicans to break the impasse in what has become a deepening disruption of 
federal programs and services, the longest in history.

   What's in and out of the bipartisan deal drew sharp criticism and leaves few 
senators fully satisfied. The legislation provides funding to reopen the 
government, including for SNAP food aid and other programs, while also ensuring 
backpay for furloughed federal workers the Trump administration had left in 
doubt.

   But notably lacking is any clear resolution to expiring health care 
subsidies that Democrats have been fighting for as millions of Americans stare 
down rising insurance premiums. That debate was pushed off for a vote next 
month, weeks before the subsidies are set to expire.

   President Donald Trump noted the deal as he arrived at the White House after 
watching the Washington Commanders' game on Sunday evening against the Detroit 
Lions, on the 40th day of the funding lapse. "It looks like we're getting close 
to the shutdown ending," he said.

   The Senate could wrap up passage as soon as Monday. The bill cleared a 
procedural hurdle, 60-40, late Sunday, with eight Democrats joining most 
Republicans. In a rare dissent, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New 
York voted against because it failed to fully address the health care funds.

   It would next go to the House, where lawmakers have been away since 
September but were being told to prepare to return to Washington this week. 
Then, it's to Trump's desk for his signature.

   Here's a look at the deal as it's moving through Congress:

   Funding to reopen the government, for now

   Included is funding to keep much of the federal government running for the 
next couple of months, to Jan. 30, with a stopgap measure. It largely funds 
government operations at their current rates.

   Yet in a breakthrough for what's considered a more normal appropriations 
process, the package also includes several bills to fully fund other government 
operations including agricultural programs and military construction along with 
veterans' affairs for the full fiscal year, through September 2026.

   Additionally, the package ensures states would be reimbursed for money they 
spent to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and 
the Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, running during the shutdown.

   Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the chair of the Appropriations 
Committee, said she was "relieved."

   "This shutdown has gone on far too long," she said. "And I also think it's 
highly significant that we'll have three yearlong appropriations bills 
attached. Veterans Day is coming very soon, and it would be wonderful if we get 
the full-year Veterans Affairs bill signed into law."

   Health care funding still up for debate

   The Democrats failed to secure their main demand during the shutdown, which 
was an extension of the health care subsidies that many of the 24 million 
people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act rely on to help defray 
costs.

   Instead, the package guarantees a vote on the issue in December -- which was 
not enough for most of the Democrats, who rejected the deal and voted against 
it.

   "The American people want us to stand and fight for health care," said Sen. 
Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

   Federal workers get a reprieve

   The package seeks to roll back some of the Trump administration's 
shutdown-related hits to the federal workforce. Employees have faced repeated 
threats of firings and mass layoffs this year.

   The stopgap measure reinstates federal workers who had received reductions 
in force, or layoff, notices and protects against such future actions.

   It also would provide back pay for federal workers who were furloughed or 
working without pay during the shutdown -- something that's traditionally 
provided but that the Trump administration had threatened was not guaranteed.

   Getting the bill to the president's desk

   Political and procedural hurdles remain as Congress, which is controlled by 
Republicans, slogs through more voting and the shutdown entered its 41st day 
Monday.

   Senators hope to skip past a series of steps that could drag voting out all 
week if the dissenters put up a prolonged fight.

   One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against advancing the 
package Sunday, and he is said to have concerns over a hemp industry provision. 
And three ultra-conservative GOP senators held up voting for more than two 
hours as they demanded consideration of their ideas. It is unclear if any of 
them plans to stage further protests.

   Democrats, who have fought for the past month in their hopes of preserving 
the health care subsidies, also could delay final passage, and their next steps 
are uncertain.

   And the package faces fresh scrutiny once it goes to the House, where 
Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana holds a slim GOP majority and would likely 
need almost all Republicans to support the bill in the face of objections from 
Democrats who are holding out for the health care funds.

   House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said the party will 
fight the bill, forcing the Republicans in the House to pass it largely on 
their own.

   "We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans 
that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits" Jeffries said. 
"Donald Trump and the Republican Party own the toxic mess they have created."