Vote on $1.4T spending bill set for Tuesday
WASHINGTON — House leaders on Monday unveiled a $1.4 trillion governmentwide spending bill that’s also carrying lots of unrelated provisions backed by denizens of Washington’s swamp of lobbyists and interest groups. A House vote is slated for Tuesday.
Retired coal miners and labor union opponents of Obamaera taxes on highcost 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 with businessfriendly provisions on export financing, flood insurance and immigrant workers.
The legislation would forestall a government shutdown this weekend and give President Donald Trump steady funding for his U.S.Mexico border fence. The yearend package is anchored by a $1.4 trillion spending measure that caps a difficult, monthslong battle over spending priorities.
The roster of addons grew over the weekend to include permanent repeal of a tax on highcost “Cadillac” health insurance benefits and finance health care and pension benefits for about 100,000 retired union coal miners threatened by the insolvency of their pension fund. A tax on medical devices and health insurance plans would also be repealed permanently.
The deficit tab for the package grew as well — almost $400 billion over 10 years to repeal the three socalled “Obamacare” taxes alone — with a companion package to extend several businessfriendly tax breaks still under negotiation. The Obamaera taxes have previously been suspended on a piecemeal basis.
The latestage negotiations involved House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other top leaders on Capitol Hill. The package faces a House vote Tuesday with the Senate expected to vote by Thursday or Friday.
The legislation is laced with provisions reflecting divided power in Washington. Republicans maintained the status quo on several abortionrelated battles and on funding for Trump’s border wall. Democrats controlling the House succeeded in winning a 3.1 percent raise for federal civilian employees and the first installment of funding on gun violence research after more than two decades of gun lobby opposition.
The sweeping legislation, introduced as two packages for political and tactical purposes, is part of a major final burst of legislation that’s passing Congress this week despite bitter partisan divisions and Wednesday’s likely impeachment of Trump. Thursday promises a vote on a major rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement, while the Senate is about to send Trump the annual defense policy bill for the 59th year in a row.
The core of the spending bill is formed by the 12 annual agency appropriations bills passed by Congress each year. It fills in the details of a bipartisan framework from July that delivered about $100 billion in agency spending increases over the coming two years instead of automatic spending cuts that would have sharply slashed the Pentagon and domestic agencies.
The increase in the tobacco purchasing age to 21 also applies to ecigarettes and vaping devices.
Other addons include a variety of provisions sought by business and labor interests and their lobbyists in Washington.