Senators are meeting for a rare Sunday session to resolve the government shutdown: 'The deal is coming together'

"Senators have arrived at Capitol Hill for a rare Sunday session, hoping to reach a deal to end the government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, told reporters on Sunday from the Capitol steps that a "deal is coming together." He said he hoped to hold an initial test vote Sunday evening. "We'll see kind of where the votes are," Thune told reporters. "This kind of stuff can drag on indefinitely if you allow it to.""

"The Senate Committee on Appropriations, which drafts legislation to allocate federal funds, introduced an initial series of bills on Sunday to fund various government departments and initiatives. Drafts of bills to address some of the key outstanding issues that have divided Congress, however, like an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and a reversal of President Donald Trump's cuts to Medicaid, have so far not been made public."

"The prolonged shutdown is affecting Americans in myriad ways. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been either furloughed or forced to work without pay. Air traffic controllers, who are paid through the Federal Aviation Administration, haven't received a full paycheck since late October. Many of those workers are no longer showing up to work, prompting a staff shortage ahead"

Senators returned to Capitol Hill for a rare Sunday session to pursue a deal and potentially hold an initial test vote Sunday evening. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said a deal is coming together and that lawmakers will gauge where votes stand. The Senate Appropriations Committee introduced an initial series of funding bills for various departments, while drafts on key divisive items such as Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions and reversing cuts to Medicaid have not been released. The shutdown began October 1 and is the longest in US history, furloughing or leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers unpaid and straining services like air traffic control.

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