US govt may avoid shutdown

Congress scrambles to pass funding bill before Friday deadline

WASHINGTON - US Congress on Wednesday unveiled a bipartisan spending package worth $1.3 trillion that would keep government agencies operating through September.

The measure, coming after congressional leaders met earlier in the day, will prevent the third government shutdown this year if it is passed and signed into law by the Friday-night deadline.

The bill allows big spending increases for defense and domestic programs, while adding money for infrastructure projects, veterans and measures to combat the opioid crisis.

A bipartisan Senate bill, aimed at improving state compliance with the national background check system for firearm purchases, is also wrapped into the spending package, along with gun-related provisions.

The spending bill was hailed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, Congress's top Republican, as marking "the beginning of a new era for the United States military", while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it would fulfill Democratic goals.

"This critical funding bill fulfills our pledge to rebuild the nation's military. It also addresses many of our national priorities, such as school safety, infrastructure, and fighting the opioid epidemic."

Though the White House said the plan has President Donald Trump's support, the package gives him only about $1.6 billion for construction of a border wall with Mexico and other border security measures, far short of the $25 billion in long-term funding that the administration has sought.

Trump lamented having to "waste money" on "Dem giveaways" to secure the military funding.

"Got $1.6 Billion to start Wall on Southern Border, rest will be forthcoming," he wrote on Twitter late on Wednesday.

Nondefense domestic spending will reach $591 billion, an increase of about 10 percent.

Among the sensitive issues addressed in the bill is gun safety, which has been the focus of prominent national attention in the aftermath of deadly school shootings.

Lawmakers said it includes a provision to strengthen compliance with background checks for firearm sales, and one that reverses what has essentially served as a ban on federal research on gun violence.

Besides, the bill does not contain steps to protect so-called Dreamers from deportation.

Dreamers are recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that the Barack Obama administration created in 2012 to defer deportation for people who came to the United States illegally as children but was terminated by Trump last fall.

The time for the vote is tight. If the House passes the bill on Thursday, the Senate could take it up later that day, which means passage would probably not take place until Friday at the earliest.

Also, it is not known if anyone in the Senate will use procedural hurdles that could slow down the bill's passage and force another technical government shutdown.

Xinhua - Afp - Ap

(China Daily 03/23/2018 page12)