Didn't take long to whittle away at those sequester cuts, did it? And poor, poor DHS. (tiny violins) Check out the other so-called trade-off?WaPo: Congressional negotiators unveiled a $1.1 trillion funding bill late Monday that would ease sharp spending cuts known as the sequester while providing fresh cash for new priorities, including President Obama’s push to expand early-childhood education.
The 1,582-page bill would fully restore cuts to Head Start, partially restore cuts to medical research and job training programs, and finance new programs to combat sexual assault in the military. It would also give all federal workers a 1 percent raise.
But in a blow to the District, it provides only partial funding to continue constructing buildings for the Department of Homeland Security’s campus in Anacostia.
The White House and leaders of both parties praised the measure, which would fund federal agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year and end the lingering threat of a government shutdown when the current funding bill expires at midnight Wednesday.
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Given barely a month to complete work on the package, Mikulski and Rogers were able to overcome early partisan disputes over funding for the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s signature legislative achievement, and payments due to the International Monetary Fund, a frequent target of conservatives.
To sweeten the package, they agreed to include a provision that would exempt disabled veterans from a modest pension reduction for military retirees enacted last month to help cover the cost of the sequester repeal.Trade-offs to what? Not wasting tax revenues at twice or more the current level hand-over-fist on nearly all of Washington's bureaucracy? When the only serious cuts made are aimed towards career military? Now, only some veterans will get their pensions trimmed, while federal workers get a 1% pay increase. The Department of Homeland Security gets a $339 million (with an 'm') shave, while the Department of Education gets over $70 billion (with a 'b'), including the new $8.6 billion funding level for Head Start. Not to mention Obamacare and federally-funded abortions protected and paid for. This isn't a budget deal, but another capitulation.
Here's a parting thought from Ed Morrissey (via HotAir):
Nevertheless, the budget will likely pass, although in stages. First, Congress has to get past the Wednesday drop-dead date of the previous continuing resolution; Politico expects a short-term CR to the weekend, or perhaps just a bit beyond. The House will then take up the bill and is expected to pass it quickly, leaving the Senate a few days to deal with its procedural issues. By Monday, this may be all done, and the FY2015 budget will become the new battlefield. Both sides in Congress need to get away from emergency budgeting in order to fight for the midterm narrative, but expect it to return again in September with another CR on this baseline to get us through the midterm election season.But until WE take hold of the reigns, our insistence falls on the deaf ears of our ill-elected robber barons among the Washington Ruling Class.
This is the kind of lousy budgeting that gets done through emergency procedures. It’s a great argument for regular order, so that appropriations bills pass with legitimate debates, amendments, and plenty of time for scrutiny. For the last several years, we have been doing the Pelosi Shuffle — not knowing what’s in these bills until we pass them. We need to insist on normal order and a rational budget process.
Related links: $1.1 trillion spending bill unveiled
Why the Sequester Had to Die
House to consider 1,582-page omnibus spending bill less than two days, then vote
