(CNN) - A possible government shutdown is looming over Washington as House leaders make plans to fund a border wall.
House Republican leaders have included $1.6 billion in a bill to help fund President Donald Trump’s border wall. The construction of a southern border wall was a key promise made during the president’s campaign for the White House.
The measure released on Tuesday adds 500 new Border Patrol agents and more technology to help secure the U.S. border with Mexico, CNN reports, adding that the budget measure includes funds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hire 1,600 more employees, and secure more space for detentions.
The GOP has enough votes in the House to pass the measure, but it could run into trouble in the Senate where Republicans hold a slim 52-48 margin. In the Senate, the GOP needs eight Democrats to join them to advance a funding bill, CNN says.
Homeland Security said the money would pay for 74 miles of construction, 32 miles of wall, 28 miles of levee wall in the Rio Grande Valley, and 14 miles of replacement for secondary fencing near San Diego, the CNN report said.
Several Democrats previously said such a proposal would be a "poison pill," and indicated they would vote against it. House leaders have not said if they would risk a shutdown fight over funding for the border wall, but called the money a "top priority."
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