While the legislation did include a 6-year reauthorization for the Children’s Health Insurance Program — a “must” for many Members of Congress — many Democrats were still united in opposing the CR initially.

This opposition came mostly out of frustration with the failure of congressional leaders to reach a bipartisan deal to offer a legislative fix to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which protects from deportation some minors, referred to as Dreamers, who entered or remain in the U.S. illegally. However, after a bipartisan group of nearly 25 senators met throughout the weekend and into Monday morning, a deal was reached. The deal included a promise from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) regarding the handling of DACA and led to Congress passing the 3-week CR.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate blocked a supplemental spending bill for disaster aid. This bill, which was the largest in U.S. history, passed the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 4667) with bipartisan support before the holidays. Conservative groups felt the bill went too far, while Democrats felt it was insufficient.

Lawmakers are still working to pass the bill. The legislative text of the package includes a recommendation by WEF that infrastructure funding for disaster recovery include greater resiliency when designing and locating treatment facilities.