On Thursday, Mar. 22, both houses of Congress passed the $1.3 trillion omnibus bill to avoid a government shutdown.
On the morning of Friday, Mar. 23, President Donald Trump threatened on Twitter to veto the spending package because the border-wall was not fully funded as a part of his immigration priorities. Later that afternoon, Trump signed the omnibus bill despite the tweet.
According to the Washington Post, Trump decided to sign the bill despite his skepticism that it provides much needed military funding, which includes new equipment and pay increases for troops.
An omnibus bill is a single piece of legislation that is voted on by Congress around the last minute before a government shutdown. Congress voted on continuing resolutions to give them extra time past the original deadline to revise budgets before voting. Continuing resolutions continue to fund the government by using spending levels from the previous fiscal year.
“I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again,” Trump said. He also called on Congress to grant him a line-item veto, which the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional back in 1998 after former President Bill Clinton attempted to utilize a line-item veto. Clinton had previously utilized line-item veto powers as governor of Arkansas.
According to CNN, the highlights of the major parts of the bill include: election security grants, attacking the country’s opioid epidemic, prohibiting restaurant owners from tip-share programs, and “grain glitches” or tax fixes that allow grain farmers to sell their products to co-ops at a dis-benefit to other private buyers.
Other parts of the omnibus package include:
- An increase in Child Care and Development Block Grants
- An increase in the daily pay for federal jury duty from $40 to $50
- An expansion of the low-income housing tax credit
- Additional money for the National Park Service
- Additional money for veterans’ hospitals and homes
- Pay increase for troops
- $2.3 billion for school safety
- $1.57 billion for border security, including barriers and technology
Rep. Dave Brat (R-Virginia) wrote for Fox News that the omnibus package adds to the $21 trillion National Debt that could bankrupt the country. The bipartisan omnibus “compromise” is the largest spending bill since former President Barack Obama’s stimulus package in 2009. Brat said that the package will also continue to fund Planned Parenthood despite conservative opposition.
The bill would still provoke opinions for or against Trump.
Opponents of Trump would like to see the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA plan, remain in place. This package was passed before the November midterm elections and each congressional vote in the omnibus package would contribute to the deciding factor of the plan in the Nov. 6 general election.
The omnibus bill is a good thing for increasing election security to protect voter fraud, improving veterans’ services and pay raises for our troops. Some states, however, will continue to argue with Trump’s immigration priorities as he proceeds with the construction of the border wall, as others fight to keep DACA.
The next two and a half years will be an evaluation of how Trump’s policies would be effective and whether congress and state governments will continue to have differences. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R) announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election in November.
It is in fact possible that the democrats would regain control of congress in 2019 and possibly the White House in 2021.
Photo Credit/ Flickr
