Senate Passes 7-Day Homeland Security Funding; House Faces Midnight Deadline

The U.S. Senate, without any debate, late on Friday passed a one-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security, a last ditch move aimed at averting a partial shutdown of the agency at midnight.

The House of Representatives, which earlier on Friday failed to pass a three-week extension of funding, still needs to pass the shorter stop-gap measure and a vote was expected later in the evening.

The vote was 224-203 against the measure, as more than four dozen Republicans defected on the leadership-backed legislation.

A combination of conservative, tea party-backed Republicans on one side of the political aisle and Democrats on the other opposed the bill. The first group was upset because the legislation had been stripped of changes to President Barack Obama's immigration policy, and the second because it lacked full-year funding for the sprawling department.

Democrats led by Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California urged them in advance to allow a vote on a bill to keep the department in funds through the Sept. 30 end of the budget year — a step the GOP high command had previously refused to take.

"You have made a mess," Pelosi said to Republicans as debate neared an end on the measure.

President Barack Obama called Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate on Friday night to get an update on efforts to ensure the Department of Homeland Security does not shut down, the White House said.

Obama also met late Friday with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan to discuss the impending deadline for funding the department, the White House said.

The Obama administration is circulating procedures for how the Department of Homeland Security will operate in the event of a midnight shutdown.

The 46-page document outlines what is exempt from the shutdown, including airport security checkpoints, Secret Service activities and border patrols. But employees involved in planning, auditing, training and other policy functions would be furloughed.

Employees who keep working during a shutdown would not be paid until Congress approves additional funding.

The administration guidance says the government will wait until the last minute to notify employees of furloughs and that workers will be allotted four hours to ramp down their activities.

Employees put on furlough will be prohibited from using their government-issued mobile devices, other than to read and respond to notices about their furlough status, according to the guidance.