Washington Insider: Bipartisan Spending Deal Reported

U.S. House and Senate negotiators reached a bipartisan deal on a $1.1 trillion spending bill that will keep the government open through September 30. Because the bill required Democratic votes for passage, it now reflects a lot of their priorities, Bloomberg reports.The measure still requires a couple of steps. However, final votes are expected soon, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign it into law.Bloomberg says that GOP leaders looking forward to focusing on health care and tax overhaul issues bowed to Democratic demands to eliminate numerous policy restrictions aimed at curbing regulations “leaving the administration with few victories.” This included the White House push for funding to begin building the border wall, as well as $18 billion in cuts to domestic agencies.In addition, the deal includes money for Planned Parenthood, despite Republican demands to defund the group, Bloomberg says.The President will be able to point to a $15 billion boost for the Pentagon, although $2.5 billion of that money is contingent on the administration delivering a new plan to fight the Islamic State. It also falls well short of the $30 billion he had originally requested.The bill includes $1.5 billion for border security, but those funds can’t be used for the border wall or additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Bloomberg says. In addition, it contains no new restrictions on money going to so-called sanctuary cities.While Republicans failed to get many of their proposed provisions in the bill they are taking the position that “spending riders have become a less important tool for the party because the Trump administration is already intent on rolling back regulations they dislike and can take many actions on its own.”“It is a solid bill that reflects our common values and that will help move our nation forward, and I urge its quick approval by the Congress and the White House,” House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., said in a statement early Monday.He pointed out that provisions were included to extend miners’ health benefits and boost health research and opioid addiction treatment and prevention. And, Environmental Protection Agency, which President Trump has sought to shrink dramatically, would receive a 1% reduction of $81 million in funding and no staff cuts.Bloomberg says the omnibus also includes authority for the secretary of Homeland Security to temporarily increase the cap in H-2B visas for temporary labor through the end of September -- a provision sought by senators in both parties. It does not, however, change the quorum for the Export-Import Bank needed to approve deals over $10 million, so a major backlog will continue until administration nominees are confirmed.Notably, agencies the administration sought to eliminate, like the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Appalachian Regional Commission, would get modest increases in funding, along with a 2% increase for national parks — as well as nearly $40 million in new funding to address deferred maintenance and construction needs, Bloomberg says.The deal would provide a permanent $1.3 billion extension of health-care benefits for coal miners, to be offset by a boost in customs fees. The provision was backed by coal-state lawmakers in both chambers.In the House, passing a spending bill for the remainder of Fiscal 2017 was always seen to be a challenge since a solid bloc of fiscal conservatives regularly oppose big spending bills. Sixteen House Republicans on Friday voted against the one-week extension of current spending that kept government open.The spending bill package would finish the job of appropriating agency spending seven months after the fiscal year began, a drawn-out fight that could have been avoided in December had the incoming administration not instructed Congress to hold off on passing a bipartisan spending measure in order to give it a chance to weigh in. Bloomberg says.A stronger chance for a government shutdown could come in October. The President has sought $54 billion in defense increases paired with $54 billion in domestic cuts. Congress and the president also will need to agree on a debt ceiling increase in the fall and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney has said he wants to use the debt ceiling to impose new spending restraints.So, the almost perpetual fight over spending continues, in spite of a brief bipartisan moment. Looking forward, while the Congress and administration have had kind words for beleaguered cotton and dairy sectors in recent days, growing budget hawk scrutiny certainly could pose new challenges for any new farm bill proposals, as well as tax and trade policies that affect the sector and which should be watched closely, Washington Insider believes.