Democrats in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday pushed for fast action to fund government programs through September and avert a looming partial shutdown for lack of funds, but they first needed a sign from Republicans of a willingness to negotiate, Reuters reported. Money runs out on Feb. 18 for Washington to fund day-to-day programs. Failure to resolve a months-long gridlock could trigger partial government shutdowns that could have an impact on military and diplomatic operations, the smooth scheduling of airline flights, operation of national parks, some healthcare programs and other activities. With a little more than two weeks till its next deadline, Congress could be forced to pass a stop-gap funding bill to keep government running during negotiations. Two such measures were enacted last year — leaving spending levels in line with what they had been during Republican Donald Trump's presidency. The last time government workers were furloughed resulted in a record-long shutdown lasting from Dec. 22, 2018 to Jan. 25, 2019, as Trump fought with Congress over funding for a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. Democrats have advanced legislation that would spend a little over $1.5 trillion on "discretionary" programs, more than an 8% increase over the previous fiscal year.
