U.S. congressional talks yield deal to fund government through September - source

[webfact]

U.S. congressional talks yield deal to fund government through September - source

REUTERS

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump's overview of the budget priorities for Fiscal Year 2018 are displayed at the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) on its release by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Washington, U.S. on March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. congressional negotiators have hammered out a bipartisan agreement on a spending package to keep the federal government funded through the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30, a senior congressional aide said on Sunday.

 

The House of Representatives and Senate must approve the deal before the end of Friday and send it to President Donald Trump for his signature to avoid the first government shutdown since 2013.

 

The Washington Post reported that Congress was expected to vote early this week on the agreement that is expected to include increases for defence spending and border security.

 

The Republican-led Congress averted a U.S. government shutdown last Friday by voting for a stop-gap spending bill that gave lawmakers another week to work out federal spending over the final five months of the fiscal year.

 

Congress was tied up for months trying to work out $1 trillion in spending priorities for the current fiscal year. Lawmakers were supposed to have taken care of the fiscal 2017 appropriations bills by last Oct. 1.

 

Democrats backed Friday's stop-gap bill a day after House Republican leaders again put off a vote on major healthcare legislation sought by Trump and opposed by Democrats to dismantle the 2010 Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, after Republican moderates balked at provisions added to entice hard-line conservatives.

 

Trump earlier bowed to Democratic demands that the spending legislation for the rest of the fiscal year not include money to start building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border he said is needed to fight illegal immigration and stop drug smugglers.

 

The Trump administration also agreed to continue funding for a major component of Obamacare despite Republican vows to end the programme.

 

(Reporting by Will Dunham and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-05-01

[elgordo38]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

expected to include increases for defence spending and border security.

 

Wonder where they found the money. Did they cut back lunch money again for the poor kids in school. How appropriate that the above 2 items get increases incredible. All hail to the wall may yea never fall may yea stand for a 1000 years and fill Mexicans eyes with tears. 

[IAMHERE]

That wall is intended to halt illegal immigration from all countries south of the US, not just Mexico. Good luck with that.

[Srikcir]

13 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

Wonder where they found the money.

Reduction in non discretionary spending?

 

Defense:

Funding increase was already available through the Budget Control Act of 2011 as amended would allow. So no issue.

In fact Obama wanted more for defense for FY 2017. Trump wanted for FY 2018 about 3% more than Obama's request. The law constrained both presidents from getting their increases.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2017/02/28/trump-historic-defense-increase-is-barely-above-what-obama-planned-and-faces-similar-obstacles/#70fe693865cd

 

Border Security:

Obama wanted an additional $3 billion in funding for DHS for FY 2017, which would pay for the President’s executive orders on border security and immigration enforcement. The spending priorities asked by Obama were about the same that were approved for by the current Congress. So a minor increase consistent with the BCA for FY 2018 would not be an issue.

https://federalnewsradio.com/budget/2017/03/theres-2017-budget-amendment-calls-18-billion-cuts-civilian-agencies/

 

Basically, Trump lost on all his budget goals. But he has another chance by end of September. FY 2018 begins October 1, 2017.