CNN
By Ted Barrett
February 2, 2015
In the intensifying congressional standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, Senate Democrats are expected to block Republicans from taking up a spending bill for the agency when it comes up for a key vote on Tuesday, according to multiple senior Democratic aides involved in the issue.
The move would jam Republicans leaders who are anxious to fund the agency but who also need to satisfy the demands of a large bloc of House Republicans who want the bill ban the department from carrying out President Barack Obama's recent immigration executive orders, which they vehemently oppose.
But Democrats oppose adding what they call "poison pill' amendments to the $40 billion funding bill. With the vote on Tuesday, they want to demonstrate to Republicans, who have 54 seats in the Senate, the bill can't get the 60 votes it would need to pass with the amendments attached.
Asked if he expects his caucus to be unified on the vote, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid told CNN, "I expect we'll do just fine."
He said the caucus would meet on Tuesday to formally decide how to vote.
"We should pass a homeland security bill with no strings attached," Reid said later in a floor speech. "That's where we are going to wind up."
On Friday, Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin told a conference call with the immigration reform advocacy group America's Voice that "we are united as a caucus and we're going to work to stop this [Republican] strategy."
Republican leaders on each side have refused to say what steps they would take next if Senate Democrats block the bill.
If a compromise cannot be reached before the Feb. 27 deadline when the agency runs out of money, Congress might need to resort to a continuing resolution while negotiations continue. Reid blasted that approach saying keeping DHS at current funding levels means a $1 billion reduction at a time when threats from terrorism are rising.
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