7 things to know about the $1.3T federal spending bill

Congress revealed a tentative $1.3 trillion spending bill March 21, according to The Washington Post.

Here are seven things to know about the "omnibus" appropriations measure.

1. Lawmakers revealed the 2,232-page bill ahead of a midnight March 23 deadline. The bill must be passed by then to avoid a government shutdown.

2. The bill, which addresses various federal departments and agencies, would fund the government through Sept. 30, 2018, when the current fiscal year ends.

3. Overall, the legislation calls for increasing defense and domestic spending by $80 billion and $63 billion, respectively, according to The Washington Post.

4. More specifically, the bill would increase funding to combat the opioid epidemic. The Washington Post reports the bill includes more than $4.65 billion for efforts such as treatment and prevention, up $3 billion from 2017 spending levels.

5. The bill does not include the ACA stabilization bill authored by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. That legislation would have allocated funding for reinsurance programs and for cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers. According to The Washington Post, Democrats did not support including the stabilization measure in the spending bill because they contended it involved anti-abortion language.

6. The spending bill also calls for a $10 billion funding increase for HHS, which includes a $3 billion boost in National Institutes of Health medical research funding and a $1.1 billion increase for the CDC, according to The Hill.

7. Other parts of the bill reportedly include funding for infrastructure and veterans programs, as well as $1.6 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall. It also includes gun legislation.

Read more about the bill here

 

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