Senate passes massive spending bill to avoid government shutdown
Senate leaders rolled out a massive two-year budget deal Wednesday, pleasing both parties and preventing a government shutdown, but increases the federal government’s spending. The plan heads to the House.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled the deal with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on the Senate floor, which would boost military and non-defense spending by $300 billion over the next two years as well as add more than $80 billion in disaster relief. About $160 billion would go to the Pentagon and about $128 billion would to non-defense programs. The agreement also includes aid to respond to recent natural disasters.
“I am pleased to announce that our bipartisan, bicameral negotiations on defense spending and other priorities have yielded a significant agreement,” McConnell said in his announcement.
“The compromise we’ve reached will ensure for the first time in years our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep them safe,” McConnell said announcing the deal Wednesday on the Senate floor.
“This budget deal will be the best thing we’ve done to our economy and our middle class in a long time,” Schumer said in a speech following McConnell.
The effort got a boost from President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening.
“The Budget Agreement today is so important for our great Military,” Trump tweeted. “It ends the dangerous sequester and gives Secretary Mattis what he needs to keep America Great. Republicans and Democrats must support our troops and support this Bill!”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a moderate Republican in the Senate, said she’s optimistic.
“I’m confident there’s not going to be a government shutdown, and there shouldn’t be,” Collins said. “We’re already nearly six months into the fiscal year, and it’s irresponsible of us to not finish this work.”
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California announced she was opposed to it, and while she didn’t encourage her caucus to vote “no,” her statement raises questions about whether there will ultimately be enough Democratic support in the House to pass the bill.
“The budget caps agreement includes many Democratic priorities,” Pelosi said in a statement. “This morning, we took a measure of our Caucus because the package does nothing to advance bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers in the House. Without a commitment from Speaker Ryan comparable to the commitment from Leader McConnell, this package does not have my support.”
Fiscal Conservatives are slamming the deal for the massive increase in domestic spending.
“Bad, bad, bad agreement,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said. “And it’s also terrible.”
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