Congress reaches a deal to prevent new shutdown

The $1.3-trillion bill would boost defense, domestic spending.

WASHINGTON — House and Senate negotiators reached tentative agreement Wednesday on a $1.3-trillion bill that would boost both defense and domestic spending, but at the same time put off solutions to other contentious issues, such as the fate of young immigrants in the country illegally.

The announcement of the deal late Wednesday came two days before the federal government would have been forced to shut down. The House and Senate now face a narrow opening to approve the 2,232page measure by Friday.

The appropriations bill stemmed from a February deal in which leaders agreed to add tens of billions of dollars to defense and nondefense spending over the next two years. The new spending levels, if approved, will extend through September.

“This legislation fulfills our pledge to rebuild the United States military,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday.

Democrats, meanwhile, heralded increases in domestic funding for education, housing, opioid addiction efforts and other programs, added to gain Democratic votes to offset opposition by fiscal conservatives.

“We Democrats feel very good because so many of our priorities for the middle class were included,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said. “From opioid funding to rural broadband, and from student loans to child care, this bill puts workers and families first.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Ryan visited the White House, where President Trump was said to be waffling over whether to back the deal. Afterward, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement of support:

“The president had a discussion with Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell, where they talked about their shared priorities secured in the omnibus spending bill. The president and the leaders discussed their support for the bill, which includes more funds to rebuild the military, such as the largest pay raise for our troops in a decade, more than 100 miles of new construction for the border wall and other key domestic priorities, like combating the opioid crisis and rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure.”

But the immigration and border component of the spending actually bill fell far short of what Trump had promised voters en route to the presidency. It included less than $2 billion in border security funding, well below Trump’s $25-billion request.

Among the included elements, according to legislators and others, were three that touched on the national outcry after recent mass shootings: a measure to strengthen background checks, money for schools to tighten security and train workers to spot potential assailants, and a statement giving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention permission to research the impact of gun violence after a ban of over two decades.

Left out, however, were several of the items that were unable to be thrashed out in the final days before the spending bill’s release. Also not included was an initially bipartisan measure to help buttress the Obamacare health insurance markets.

Also left out was a solution to the fate of the young immigrants in the country illegally because of their parents’ actions. Until September, they were protected under an Obama administration program, which Trump canceled. Several attempts to craft a deal merging support for the border wall and protection for the “Dreamers” failed. Many of them are now protected by a court stay which could be lifted at any time.

The spending bill came under fire from conservative Republicans over its content and the need to rush it through to prevent a government shutdown.

The House and Senate are due to leave Washington at the end of the week for a two-week spring break.