[Edward64]

Where we stand now on the budget deal. There's hope for a compromise with Congress.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/07/polit...ons/index.html

The backstop: As is often the case, when deadlines get close, lawmakers start talking about a short-term, one- or two-week stop-gap funding bill. Democrats have floated the idea, and several Senate Republicans have said it may be necessary as a backstop while talks continue.

Notably, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a closed-door meeting of GOP committee chairs on Wednesday he did not think a stop-gap bill was a good idea, according to one participant -- and there's real question as to whether the president would even sign one. The message was negotiators need to reach a deal -- and get it done now.

The sticking points:

Border barriers -- the topline funding number, the location and the actual structure chosen for the barriers are still under discussion. Note that Democrats have clearly moved off their position of no money for border barriers. Republicans accept $5.7 billion is a non-starter. It's not a question of if there will be barriers. The key now, per multiple sources involved is narrowing the gap on number, location and type of barrier.

Detention beds -- Democrats, particularly in the House, are deeply opposed to increased funding for detention facilities to house detained undocumented immigrants. Republicans consider the funding increases in this area a must. This is a significant sticking point that has flown under the radar to some degree amid the wall fight.

Personnel -- Democrats proposed hiring 1,000 new customs agents, but had restrictions on increasing other personnel on the border. Republicans want a significant increase in border patrol and ICE personnel. This is not a minor issue -- a large chunk of the Democratic caucus is sharply opposed to increased personnel (the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in a letter to conferees Wednesday, characterized it as "Trump's deportation force" and urged negotiators not to increase any funding.)

An interesting piece of this is the spending parameters the negotiators are working under -- technically the level for the DHS measure is about $49 billion. Republicans, in past proposals, have sought to get around those caps via emergency funding to help finance the President's priorities. There's some dispute over whether that option is on the table here, according to people involved, but more broadly it's important to note that it's not like there's unlimited funds to just plunge into the bill.