US House and Senate negotiators reached a bipartisan deal on a $1.1-trillion spending bill that largely tracks with Democratic priorities and rejects most of President Donald Trump’s wish list, including money to begin building a wall along the US-Mexican border.
The compromise measure, released early Monday morning, would keep the government open through the end of September. Under House procedures, a vote could be held as early as Wednesday.
GOP leaders eager to focus on health-care and tax overhauls bowed to Democratic demands to eliminate hundreds of policy restrictions aimed at curbing regulations, leaving the Trump administration with few victories.
The White House sought funding to begin building the border wall, as well as $18 billion in cuts to domestic agencies, and both demands were rebuffed. The spending deal includes money for Planned Parenthood, despite Republican demands to defund the group over its provision of abortions.
Trump 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 Islamic State. It also falls well short of the $30 billion he had originally requested.
Trump will get $1.5 billion for border security, but it can’t be used for the border wall or additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to one congressional aide. There are also no new restrictions on money going to so-called sanctuary cities that don’t fully enforce federal immigration laws.
“Reports that the package makes a major down payment towards the president’s security priorities are encouraging,” John Czwartacki, a spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement.
Republicans failed to get a number of conservative provisions in the bill, including one that would have blocked the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule limiting financial advice to retirees.
Overall, the compromise resembles more of an Obama administration-era budget than a Trump one. The National Institutes of Health, for example, would see a $2-billion boost, reflecting the popularity of medical research among lawmakers. The deal includes $990 million for famine aid, along with a $1.1 billion boost for disaster recovery funds.
“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 of New Jersey said in a statement early Monday.
He said the measure represents a $25-billion increase in national defense funding over current levels. In addition, he noted provisions including an extension of miners’ health benefits and increases in health research and opioid addiction treatment and prevention.
The Environmental Protection Agency, which Trump has sought to shrink dramatically, would receive a 1-percent reduction in funding and no staff cuts, according to one aide.
The deal also includes steady or slight increases in funding for agencies within the Department of Energy, such the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which would get a $17-million increase, and the Office of Science, which would get a boost of $42-million compared to fiscal 2016 funding levels, the aide said. The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, which aims to fund experimental energy research and has been targeted for elimination by the Trump administration, would get a $15-million increase.