Trump urges Republicans to support two-year budget deal before House vote

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday urged House Republicans to support the two-year budget deal that was struck earlier this week between the White House and Congress.

“House Republicans should support the `TWO YEAR BUDGET AGREEMENT’ which greatly helps our Military and our Vets,” Trump tweeted. “I am totally with you!’’

The agreement covers the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years, and would raise overall spending levels by 320 billion dollars above the strict limits set in 2011.

It would also suspend the federal debt ceiling until July 31, 2021, preventing the U.S. from defaulting on its payment obligations.

The Treasury Department has estimated that a potential default could happen as early as in September.

The agreement, reached between the legislative and executive branches on Monday, still has to be passed by the House and the Senate before a presidential signing ceremony.

A vote on the House floor is expected on Thursday, one day before lawmakers leave town for the summer recess.

The Senate’s recess starts on Aug. 2, giving the upper chamber additional time to vote on the measure once it gets through the House.

If passed by the Senate, the proposed bill will be sent to the president’s desk for a signature.

Representing a significant bipartisan compromise, the agreement — not yet a law until Trump signs on it — will see the budget cap for discretionary spending rise to 1.37 trillion dollars in 2020 and 1.375 trillion dollars in 2021.

While Democrats managed to cut the “offsets’’ for a spending increase to 77.4 billion dollars from the original White House proposal — which asked for 150 billion dollars — Republicans can boast the victory of securing more defence spending in the agreement — 738 billion dollars in 2020 and 741
billion dollars in 2021.

Meanwhile, the 320-billion-dollar overall spending cap rise for the next two years is 30 billion dollars less than what the Democrats have sought.

Non-defence spending for fiscal 2020 would total 632 billion dollars, up nearly 4.5 per cent above the comparable fiscal 2019 numbers. For 2021, spending in domestic programmes would be further boosted to 635 billion dollars.

The deal, however, has been met with opposition from fractions on Capitol Hill, with the conservative House Conservative Caucus saying on Tuesday that it “took an official position opposing the budget agreement.”

Calling for “a responsible budget that serves taxpayers better,” the group said the current measure contains “no serious offsets.”

Yet, House Republican leaders and House Democrats by and large are supportive of the deal.

While calling the agreement “not a perfect deal by any means,” Congressional Progressive Caucus, a progressive group in the House, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement also added that with this agreement, “We can finally begin to end this harmful chapter of self-inflicted austerity.”

The group added that the deal “will allow for major, long-overdue investments in domestic priorities — including housing assistance, food aid, education and job training.”