Deal to avert government shutdown is 'pretty much done,' Democratic senator says
A deal between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to avert a government shutdown is "pretty much done," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., told CNBC on Thursday.
"They're putting pen to paper, and it's just a matter of how long it will take to get the deal kind of finalized," she said in an interview with " Power Lunch ."
Earlier Thursday, Sen. Mitch McConnell said the Senate expects to pass a short-term funding bill ahead of the late Friday deadline to keep the government open.
Heitkamp said after a couple of big concessions were made, the path for a deal become clear.
"Once … the Democrats were willing to do more on defense and the Republicans were willing to fulfill the commitment under the Affordable Care Act and not waste money throwing something at a border-security provision that wasn't actually going to enhance security — I think those were the two big things that needed to happen," she explained.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration dropped its opposition to an Affordable Care Act subsidy for low-income people. The White House previously stopped insisting on funding for a wall on the southern border as part of a bill to keep the government funded.
While the solution right now is expected to be a short-term extension, Heitkamp is optimistic about a long-term solution.
"If we didn't think that we were there with a negotiated deal, I don't think we'd be agreeing on an extension. It's just a matter of getting the paperwork done so that all the t's are crossed and the i's are dotted," she said.
—CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.
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