As part of an effort to end the partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, President Trump and Republican Congressional Leadership advanced a two-part plan: using budget reconciliation to fund 3 years of U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP), while funding the rest of the Department through a bill that the Senate unanimously passed over a month ago. 

On Thursday, the House passed the Senate DHS funding bill by an unrecorded voice vote, ending the 76-day shutdown. Earlier that day, the House also adopted the Senate’s “skinny” budget resolution, containing reconciliation instructions for $70 billion in funding for ICE and CBP. This outcome is favorable for healthcare stakeholders, as Republicans were debating whether to pursue a much larger package (as much as half a trillion dollars) which would have likely required another round of cuts to federal healthcare programs to offset its cost. While the budget resolution represents only the first step in the reconciliation process, early discussions of a potential third reconciliation bill suggest that additional proposals could still have implications for patients, providers, and insurers.