US House passes spending bill, defense gets huge boost
The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives voted 309-118 to pass $1.2 trillion spending bill which will fund the government till the end of the fiscal year, ending September 30. This the first bipartisan legislation passed by the House this year and marks President Donald Trump's first legislative victory. The legislation, which averted a federal government shutdown, still needs to be passed by the Senate.
What the spending legislation includes
The legislation will boost US' defense spending by $12.5 billion. Another $2.5 billion has been made available for when Trump unveils his plans on defeating ISIS. The bill ignored the White House's proposed spending cuts and adds $2 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $295 million for Puerto Rico's Medicaid healthcare programme and $407 million to fight fires in Western states.
Legislation doesn't include funds for Trump's border wall
On one hand, the legislation increases federal border security funding. However, it doesn't include funding for the construction of Trump's proposed US-Mexico border wall, due to opposition from Democrats and Republicans. Trump had said he'd make Mexico pay for border wall, but the Mexican government rejected this, prompting the president to ask Congress for funds.
Fight for border wall funding to renew in September
Congress will try to pass another spending bill to cover the next fiscal year which begins from October 1. This means, another battle for funding the border wall is expected and Trump has already started planning for this. "Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess!," Trump tweeted, threatening a government shutdown if lawmakers don't approve funding.
