US House passes 1.4-tln-USD spending plan ahead of gov't shutdown deadline

WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives has passed a 1.4-trillion-US-dollar spending package that will fund the government through the end of the fiscal year, as lawmakers in both chambers are rushing to avoid a government shutdown.

The House approved the spending bill on Tuesday to keep the federal government open through Sept 30 in 2020, sending the legislation to the Senate. President Donald Trump has to sign it by Friday, when current stopgap funding package expires.

The bipartisan legislation will maintain the US-Mexico border wall funding at its current level of 1.375 billion dollars, far less than what the president demanded. The spending package will also remove some controversial taxes of the Affordable Care Act, which many Democrats regard as a major legislative achievement of former President Barack Obama.

The new legislation also includes provisions such as raising the age of tobacco purchases to 21 and providing funding for gun violence research, among others.

The budget deal between the president and Congress will add more than 400 billion dollars to the national debt over the next 10 years, according to Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of the country's key fiscal challenges.

"Another 400 billion in debt is the worst possible holiday gift for our children," Peterson said. "This last-minute grab-bag budget bill has something political for everyone in Washington, yet it hurts the next generation and the future prosperity of our nation."

In particular, Peterson said, "rapidly rising" healthcare costs are the "largest threat" to America's fiscal and economic health, yet this bill repeals provisions that were specifically targeted toward addressing "this important and difficult challenge."

He was referring to the "Cadillac Tax," which was designed to "curtail high-cost insurance plans that mostly affect high earners." It was supposed to take effect in 2018, but Congress has delayed its implementation due to strong opposition.

In early August, Congress passed a bill that will increase the federal budget and lift the debt ceiling for the next two years. The bill, signed by Trump, lifts the budget cap for discretionary spending to 1.37 trillion dollars in 2020 and 1.375 trillion dollars in 2021, expanding defense outlays, demanded by Republicans, and boosting domestic spending, sought by Democrats.

Congress did not complete action on appropriations before the end of the fiscal year on Sept 30, and it enacted a continuing resolution in September that keeps the government open through Nov 21, and then passed a short-term spending bill that keeps the government funded through Dec 20.