New short-term spending bill: Defense is in, DREAMers are out

WASHINGTON — The latest proposed budget extension that the House is planning to consider today to avert a Feb. 9 shutdown would fund the federal government through March 23.

The government shut down briefly in January when Congress was unable to agree to a temporary spending bill. After a few days of arguing, lawmakers passed a bill and reopened the government until the end of this week.

Here is what is in the new short-term bill and what is not:

What’s in

• Funding at 2017 budget levels through March 23.

• Full-year funding for the Defense Department of $659 billion — a $52 billion increase from 2017, which includes 2.4 percent pay increase. It is not clear this addition has enough support to pass in the Senate.

• Funding for and extensions of numerous, mostly technical, health care provisions involving Medicare services and programs.

• Extending for two years funding for Community Health Centers.

• Additional $51 million to prevent delays in the 2020 Census and extra money to cover rise in juror costs.

• An additional $225 million for Small Business Administration disaster loans in areas hit by natural disasters in 2017.

 What’s left out

• Fixing the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that protects from deportation the so-called DREAMers — young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents. Democrats have demanded a vote on this program in exchange for supporting short-term spending bills.

• Lifting of the long-standing spending caps to allow for increases in domestic and defense spending.

• Providing additional disaster assistance for states hit by hurricanes and drought.

• Raising the debt limit — the amount the government can borrow. The government will reach the current limit in early March.

 

 

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