President Trump is “willing to be patient” in waiting for more funding for his border wall, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday, suggesting there won’t be any new money in the pipeline at the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1.
A day after a White House meeting to talk over spending priorities, Mr. Ryan said House Republicans, the president and the Senate GOP are all on the same page as the approach the new fiscal year and try to avoid a shutdown showdown.
Mr. Ryan said they will try to get some of the 12 government funding bills done on time, but cast doubt on lawmakers’ ability to get the homeland security bill done.
That means there wouldn’t be any new money for wall-building at the start of the fiscal year.
“It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. The president’s willing to be patient,” Mr. Ryan told reporters.
The House Appropriations Committee approved its homeland security bill Wednesday, calling for about $5 billion for border infrastructure such as the wall. That’s significantly more than the Senate’s version, which calls for $1.6 billion — the same amount Mr. Trump got for this current fiscal year.
Senators said the $1.6 billion was Mr. Trump’s original request. He later came and asked for more.
The House homeland security bill was complicated this week after Democrats succeeded in adding new restrictions to the measure on the zero tolerance border policy, limits on the president’s deportation powers, and a new rollback of stricter standards for asylum-seekers.
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Source:Washington Times
