Congress is set to open the door to a gargantuan budget deal — here's what's in it

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February 8, 2018 3:53 PM

Republican and Democratic Senate leaders announced a massive budget deal that includes changes to defense funding, Medicare, and the tax code.

Senate leaders from both parties on Wednesday agreed to a massive two-year budget deal.
The deal would increase funding for federal defense and nondefense programs by $296 billion over the next two years.
The legislation also includes changes to Medicare, the tax code, and more.
While it appears to have enough support in the Senate, the House may be dicier.

Congress is expected to vote Thursday on a massive bipartisan budget deal to increase funding for government programs by hundreds of billions of dollars while averting another shutdown.

The deal, announced Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, would bump spending for both defense and nondefense programs while also fulfilling various policy goals from both sides of the aisle.

The deal would set the budget caps for the next two years and extend the current level of funding through March 23, giving congressional appropriators enough time to hash out the details of where exactly the money will go.

With that in mind, here's what's in the legislation:

Though it's still not completely clear the bill will pass, its chance seems likely.

The legislation is expected to pass in the Senate, given the support of leadership. But the House may present some problems.

A slew of conservative Republicans have come out against the bill because it increases spending and adds to the federal debt. The House Freedom Caucus, made up of roughly 30 hardline conservative members, officially came out against the bill on Wednesday.

"The House Freedom Caucus opposes the deal to raise spending caps on discretionary spending by nearly $300 billion over two years," the Freedom Caucus said in a statement. "We support funding for our military, but growing the size of government by 13% adds to the swamp instead of draining it. This is not what the American people sent us here to do."

Meanwhile, many House Democrats have expressed reservations that the bill does not include a solution for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program, which is set to expire on March 5.

House Speaker Paul Ryan — who supports the plan — said Thursday that he believes there are enough votes to avoid the shutdown.

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