What’s in Congress’s Short-term Funding Agreement?
Spending the money, ALL the money
Sunday night, Congress reached a budget deal that funds the federal government through the end September which is also the end of the fiscal year.
The budget, which has a pricetag of over $1 trillion (approximately $700 million per page), is being touted as a bipartisan effort though conservatives are less than thrilled.
According to NBC, Democrats received their wishlist which included funding for Planned Parenthood:
The bill maintained funding for Planned Parenthood and sanctuary cities. It included money for Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program and a permanent funding stream for coal miners’ health insurance. It also directed money for the cost-sharing subsidies for low income people to purchase health insurance in the Affordable Care Act. All of these were Democratic demands.
The National Institute for Health, which Democrats were sure would suffer funding cuts, got a $2 billion boost. From the Washington Free Beacon:
The National Institutes of Health is set to get a $2 billion increase in spending under the congressional omnibus bill to fund the government through September.
The spending is on top of the “huge increase” the agency received last year, and goes against President Donald Trump’s priority to cut the agency.
…
Stat News reported that part of the $2 billion increase for the NIH would go to Alzheimer’s research and several of President Barack Obama’s “big science projects.”
In addition to the NIH budget buster, the bill permanently extends, “expiring health insurance benefits to coal miners, a major priority of senators from Appalachia,”
Senator Schumer (D-NY) praised the bill saying, “This agreement is a good agreement for the American people and takes the threat of a government shutdown off the table. The bill ensures taxpayer dollars aren’t used to fund an ineffective border wall, excludes poison-pill riders, and increases investments in programs that the middle-class relies on, like medical research, education and infrastructure,” Politico reported.
The bill bolsters defense spending by $25 billion, and allocates an additional $1.5 billion to border security, though no funding for a southern border wall was included.
Both VP Pence and Speaker Ryan spoke highly of the budget bill:
“We couldn’t be more pleased that, thanks to President Trump’s leadership and direct engagement last night at the White House, leaders in the House and Senate in both parties signed off on a budget deal. It’ll avert a government shutdown but more important than that, there’s going to be a significant increase in military spending,” Pence said on CBS “This Morning.”
And in a statement, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “America will be stronger and safer because of this government funding bill. It acts on President Trump’s commitment to rebuild our military for the 21st century and bolster our nation’s border security to protect our homeland. Importantly, we have boosted resources for our defense needs without corresponding increases in non-defense spending, as Democrats had insisted upon for years.”
Basically:
Over $1 trillion and Democrats received everything they wanted. So much for draining the swamp.
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Comments
We were told by this bunch of spineless jellyfish that if we voted them to a majority in the House, Senate, and the WH they would undo all the mistakes of the Dems and obama for the last 8 years. Now we get the same old tune of “If we don’t go along with the lying unethical dishonest Demorats they will shut down the government and we will be blamed”. Isn’t that what they said when obama was in office and the Dems held the Senate? When do we get to win? Where the hell is the third party with a true leader in it? If Trump calls this leadership then we are all dead. And Pence and Ryan both call it a great bill! Is that not the worst thing you have ever heard? The two of them saying that is truly a reminder of the “Two a$$holes on the camel” joke!
The democrats got everything they wanted. The voters got nothing they voted for. How is this bi-partisan, again?
It means that We the People were shat upon by both parties. See? Bipartisan.
Or, if you’re a fan of George Carlin, “Bipartisan usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out.”
If we had a republican speaker of the house we might do better.
I’m mixed on the increase in military spending.
It’s a government organization, just like all the others. The gutting of it during the Obama admin was wrong, but don’t try and tell me they don’t have a ton of waste and inefficiency.
Total bs. We can get screwed by democrats so what do we need republicans for? They’re redundant.
What’s in it? Nothing that Republicans or Trump campaigned on, that’s for sure. I’m willing to take some concessions as we’re already seven months into the fiscal year, but Republicans had better grow a pair by September. I’m not going to hold my breath…
I am no wizard about this, but:
Because there are only a few months left in the year, shouldn’t it be easier cut funding for those remaining months?
There is no credibility in any Republican who says “we’ll do better next time.”
I see very little value in “avoiding a shutdown.” What a bunch of weenies.
Nice way to lull the regressive Dems and Rinos to sleep.
Then next year……BAM!
There are cuts already going on under the radar.
“The State Department plans to cut 2,300 U.S. diplomats and civil servants — about 9 percent of the Americans in its workforce worldwide — as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson presses ahead with his task of slashing the agency’s budget, according to people familiar with the matter.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-28/tillerson-said-to-seek-9-cut-to-u-s-state-department-workforce?utm_content=politics&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-politics
I think you may need to put the cup of koolaid down and step away from the cooler. Everything the Republicans do is always “Under” the radar and coming next year. Most of us don’t buy it for one moment. They ALL want to keep their jobs for themselves and we can go to he11.
“Next time” never comes.
Agreed. The actual budget for the next year better contain the R promises, or everyone that has not figured it out already will understand, finally, that the R party is nothing more than D lite.
I’m willing to give it until then, but I’ll not hold my breath.
When, pray tell, do they go back to “regular order” and pass spending bills department by department?
A big giant F-you to the people of Paul Ryan’s district that re-elected him.
Der Donald endorsed him, remember? Along with McAnus and all the crew.
Prediction on whether Mr. Establishment signs the bill or vetoes it…???
All is proceeding as I envisioned…
LOL. Is that Dr Evil or Ming The Merciless you are unintentionally copying there?
Can’t deal with reality, as usual, T-rump sucker.
Rags bloviating about “reality”…too funny…
Did Der Donald endorse him?
Yes or no.
Is he BFF with Rinse (and repeat) Priebus?
Yes or no.
Is Rinse (and repeat) Priebus T-rump’s chief-of-staff?
Yes or no.
Sucker.
It seems disingenuous to be critical of Ragspierre on this one.
“All is proceeding as I envisioned…”
You have no vision. None. Just pure hatred.
“All is proceeding as I envisioned…”
Your only vision is the inside of your colon. Tell us again who your alternative was on Nov 8.
Mr PRESENT complains about Mr President.
The Establishment Congress is still in session. It exists to spend money, as much as possible in a totally wasteful, unnecessary manner. Same s**t different day.
I was very saddened to learn this bill was supported by President Trump. I would have hoped President Trump would have vetoed this bill, force the shutdown and the GOPe to get more concessions.
The democrats are rightfully running around saying they won everything they wanted, because they did. There is no compromise in this bill.
Also this bill and its required funding of Obamacare insurance company payoffs and prohibition against the Wall and failure to support cut offs to sanctuary cities sets the precedent that the democrats will threaten shutdown and the GOPe will cave just like they always have since 2011.
Better President Trump to do the shutdown now (sooner) rather than later. If Trump doesn’t stop this kind of thing with a veto and shutdown before 2018 people may just decide that the GOPe must be brought down, by voting democrat or not voting at all. A turnover in congress to the democrats will maybe get the attention of the GOP, but at the cost of neutering the Trump presidency. Then again with these GOPe congress critters the Trump presidency is neutered already.
Maybe the only solution will be for Trump to shutdown the government after 2018 and keep it shutdown straight through to 2020 if necessary to keep these stupid congress critters in line.
Here’s another thought because this one really has me fired up. The American people honestly don’t give two poops about a government shutdown. It doesn’t affect them in the least. What they do care about are their Congressmen keeping the promises they campaigned on for the past seven years. If Republicans aren’t willing to die on the hills they’ve promised they would since 2010, it’s pretty obvious they’re never going to pick a hill to die on. I’m thoroughly disgusted.
Not only do most of us not care a whit about the shut down we saw from the terrible obama admin what can be done to keep essential services open. obama was cold hearted enough to actually close the veterans parks in DC just to make a point. But Trump could do just the opposite and keep open the things that make us Americans. This is a battle that Trump should have drawn a red line over and he flinched.
Both parties suck. And enough voters know it, so we didn’t get stuck with a President Hillary, or a President Jeb.
And of course it’s tempting to blame the miserable performance of all 2.8 million people who work for the Federal government on the guy sitting behind the “Buck Stops Here” desk. That might be fair enough … but it’s hardly practical.
But horrible though both may be, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have nukes.
The Norks do. Not many, but it’s only a matter of time before they have more. And, thanks in part to Obama, the Perks are well on the way to joining them.
If there’s some secret reason for the military intelligence services to believe that the Norks are as dangerous as they like to pretend they are, and if Obama castrated the American military as badly as I suspect he did, then the defense budget just might be more important to the future of the United States than sticking it to Planned Parenthood or sanctuary cities.
Might. I have no idea if it is; neither does anyone I know.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/05/president_schumer_agrees_to_bill_funding_pr_obamacare_abortionists_but_no_wall.html
President Chuck Schumer said:
This agreement is a good agreement for the American people and takes the threat of a government shutdown off the table[.] … The bill ensures taxpayer dollars aren’t used to fund an ineffective border wall, excludes poison pill riders and increases investments in programs that the middle class relies on, like medical research, education and infrastructure.
Since Republicans lost the presidency and the Congress in the last election, it is no surprise that this spending bill hewed closely to the Democrat agenda. Republicans had tried to include funding for a border wall, but since they are in the minority in Congress, they didn’t have the power to push it through.
Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boasted:
… that they were able to force Republicans to withdraw more than 160 unrelated policy measures, known as riders, including those that would have cut environmental funding and scaled back financial regulations for Wall Street.
——————-
The legislation also stipulates that none of the money be spent for a “deportation force” and that there be no cut in funding to sanctuary cities, at least while President Schumer is in the White House.
Democrats fought to include $295 million to help Puerto Rico continue making payments to Medicaid, $100 million to combat opioid addiction, and increases in energy and science funding that Trump had proposed cutting[.] … [T]he legislation will ensure that Planned Parenthood continues to receive federal funding through September.
Here is hoping that the extra money for defense military spending given NO and Russia is why Trump is accepting this crap sandwich.
the uni-party in action …
Here is the press briefing from Mulvaney…
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/01/press-briefing-office-management-and-budget-director-mick-mulvaney
And the one from the Press Secretary…
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/01/daily-press-briefing-press-secretary-sean-spicer-43
And shocker – there was an EO signed that created a new American Technology Council. Most remarkable is that it has a drop dead date of 1/20/2021. Key point in the policy paragraph – “the Federal Government must transform and modernize its information technology and how it uses and delivers digital services.”
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/01/presidential-executive-order-establishment-american-technology-council
Yet another example of why Congress is held in such low esteem by the public, except of course for “their” Representative. That’s the problem in a nutshell and explains why more than 90% of incumbents are re-elected every 2 years. As Einstein pointed out doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity.
This adds a whole new level of meaning of “Principals.” Next time you hear a conservative talk about theirs, just remember this.
Might be a good time to listen to todays Presser with Kelly and Mulvaney where the facts of the budget are discussed.
It seems that a lot of what is being reported and what the Dems are gloating over just ain’t so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_kwsSq_gs4