Ryan unveils budget deal, touts benefits to GOP
Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled a massive tax and spending package Tuesday night, arguing that the GOP didn’t win every fight, but they kept many of their policy preferences in place for the next 10 months.
In a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans, Ryan (R-Wis.) touted a pause in Obamacare’s “Cadillac tax,” the lifting of a longstanding oil-export ban and preservation of several other policy preferences in the year-end deal, which include $1.149 trillion in spending and several hundred billion in tax breaks.
The bills will get a vote later this week — either on Thursday or Friday. The omnibus spending bill will likely be carried by Democrats, who consider it a major victory, while the tax bill will get many more Republican votes.
The two pieces of legislation represent the last order of business for the House this year.
Republicans posted the full text of the 2000 page agreement around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, and both parties are expected to continue reviewing the package on Wednesday.
After the deal was announced, many members of both parties said Democrats won this round on federal spending. They agreed to lift the prohibition on exporting U.S. oil, but turned back other so-called GOP policy riders, including efforts to tighten restrictions on Syrian and Iraqi refugees. The GOP also did not mount a serious effort to strip funding from Planned Parenthood, although many hardline conservatives had demanded such a move.
Republicans, however, succeeded in including language to reform the so-called Visa Waiver Program, which allows many foreign citizens visa-free travel in the U.S. for three months. President Barack Obama has voiced support for that plan.
The deal also includes extensions to wind and solar tax credits, as well as major changes to cybersecurity sharing law. And it would reauthorize the 9/11 health and compensation law.
According to a document handed to members on Tuesday night, the omnibus bill “strengthens national defense and homeland security,” includes “various pro-life provisions,” “no new funding for Obamacare,” while also paring back funding of the Environmental Protection Agency. And the GOP held back attempts to further regulate non-profit political activity, according to the document.
On the other side, Democrats did not win any restrictions on gun purchases, despite their efforts.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Democratic leaders said the text of the agreement was not yet finalized.
House Republicans, who convened a meeting at 9 p.m. Tuesday to review the deal, are slated to meet again Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) vote counting team will begin counting votes Wednesday.
Although many Republicans were disappointed by the package, they said they would support it anyway.
“I think many of my colleagues will look at it like I do that we need to move past this...and move on to 2016,” said House Education and Workforce Chairman John Kline of Minnesota.
But before the big bills clear Congress, lawmakers need to avoid a government shutdown on Wednesday night. Negotiators are preparing to pass a stop-gap funding measure giving Congress an additional week of breathing room to process the omnibus spending bill and the tax extenders package. That new continuing resolution would expire on Dec. 22, more than enough time to wrap up everything, even if the measure gets bogged down in the Senate.