Bill calls for $1.4 trln in ‘federal spending’
WASHINGTON, Dec 17, (AP): House leaders unveiled a $1.4 trillion government-wide spending package with an unusually large load of unrelated provisions catching a ride on the last train out of Congress this year.
A House vote was slated for Tuesday on the sprawling package, some 2,313 pages long, as lawmakers wrap up reams of unfinished work - and vote on impeaching President Donald Trump.
The legislation would forestall a government shutdown this weekend and give Trump steady funding for his US-Mexico border fence. The year-end package is anchored by a $1.4 trillion spending measure that caps a difficult, months-long battle over spending priorities. The mammoth measure made public Monday takes a split-the-differences approach that’s a product of divided power in Washington, offering lawmakers of all stripes plenty to vote for - and against. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, D-Calif., was a driving force, along with administration pragmatists such as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who negotiated the summertime budget deal that it implements.
Trump hasn’t said for sure that he’ll sign the measure. He invariably has second thoughts, but he’s not interested in another government shutdown and has always bowed to Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., when they’ve teamed up on compromise spending packages.
Retired coal miners and labor union opponents of Obama-era taxes on high-cost health plans came away with big wins in weekend negotiations by top congressional leaders and the Trump White House. The bill would also increase the age nationwide for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21, and offers businessfriendly provisions on export financing, flood insurance and immigrant workers.