Deal struck to avert government shutdown
What's in and what's out in the latest government spending bill
Congressional negotiators reach deal on government funding through September
Story highlights
- Congress passed a one-week extension to fund the government through Friday
- The latest deal would include billions in new defense spending as well as money for border security
(CNN)Bipartisan
congressional negotiators reached a critical agreement late Sunday on a
massive spending bill that if approved by the House and Senate would
fund the government through the end of September, senior aides from both
parties told CNN.
The plan
would add billions for the Pentagon and border security but would not
provide any money for President Donald Trump's promised border wall with
Mexico,
Votes in both chambers are expected by the end of the week.
The
deal was reached after weeks of tense but steady negotiations between
Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill and the White House, who
battled over spending priorities but who were equally determined to
avoid a politically fraught government shutdown. Republicans, who
control Congress and the White House, were particularly wary of a
shutdown on their watch.
Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released a statement Sunday evening
saying the agreement is consistent with his party's principles.
"This
agreement is a good agreement for the American people, and takes the
threat of a government shutdown off the table," the New York Democrat
said in a statement.
House
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi also praised the proposal, saying in a
statement "we have made significant progress improving the omnibus
bill."
"Now,
the Members of our Caucus will assess the whole package and weigh its
equities," the California Democrat said in the statement.
Aides
in each party disputed some characterizations from the other side as to
what made into the final proposal but one of the key aspects they
agreed on: The bill has $1.5 billion for border security, including for
technology and fixing existing infrastructure but it doesn't allow the
money to spent on building Trump's wall. There is no money provided for a
deportation force and there are no cuts of federal monies to so-called
sanctuary cities.
Trump's
demand for the border wall down payment was rejected by Democrats. They
decried the controversial project -- and key Trump campaign promise --
as immoral and premature since Trump has not detailed plans for building
the multibillion dollar wall he had vowed Mexico would pay for anyway.
Aides
also agreed that the bill includes billions in new defense spending,
including for the global war on terrorism, a major demand from
Republicans.
In the proposal, there are no cuts to funding for Planned Parenthood, a demand from Democrats.
Funding
for the National Institute of Health is increased by $2 billion and
there is additional money for clean energy and science funding.
Negotiators
also agreed to make a permanent fix for miners health insurance and to
provide $295 million for Puerto Rico Medicaid. There is also disaster
aid package that includes funding for California, West Virginia,
Louisiana, North Carolina. There is increased funding for transit
infrastructure grants and to fight the opioid epidemic, and year-round
Pell Grants were restored.
Talks had also stalled over a threat by Trump to cut off Obamacare subsidies paid
to insurance companies to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of some
lower-income users of the Affordable Care Act, but Trump backed off that
demand in the face of harsh criticism from Democrats.
The
subsidies will stay in place as Republicans continue their long-stalled
effort to repeal Obamacare, something Trump and his aides hope to
revive as early as this week.
The deal means a government shutdown next Friday, when agencies are set to run out of money, is unlikely. Last Friday, Congress passed a one-week stopgap spending bill when it became clear negotiators needed a bit more time to finalize an agreement.
This story has been updated and will be updated to include new developments.
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