[Jimbuna]

Congress unveils $1.2 trillion funding package

Lawmakers have unveiled a $1.2 trillion package to keep the government funded just days before a shutdown deadline at the end of the week. The sprawling plan of more than 1,000 pages includes provisions to bolster up border security, increase the military budget and ban cash for the main aid agency for Palestinians.
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Six of the 12 annual government spending bills have been bundled together and Republicans have celebrated cuts in areas like diversity and foreign aid. It now faces a sprint to get passed in the House and Senate before the Saturday deadline, when funding for government agencies will lapse.
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The package ramps up investment at the border amid the historic migrant crisis and includes a list of conservative cultural victories. There is a provision stating only American flags can be flown above embassies - in a victory Speaker Mike Johnson touted would ban Pride flags from being flown at U.S. embassies around the world. It also prevents the Consumer Product Safety Commission from banning gas stoves.

For the border, there is $19.6 billion for Customs and Border Protection, a $3.2 billion increase above fiscal year 2023. There is also $495 million for additional Border Patrol agents, which the Biden administration has called for, but no funds for the wall. The money will be used to pay 22,000 border agents. Immigrant detention beds would be boosted from 34,000 to 42,000 at migrant facilities across the country and funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will be cut by 20 percent.

Foreign aid generally will be cut by six percent. For the military, there is a 5.2 percent pay increase for service members. Funding for most defense agencies would remain at current spending levels. Cash to a United Nations agency that gives relief to Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, has been cut. It also slashes funding to a UN agency that investigates Israel's alleged war crimes.

Israel accused 12 of UNRWA's 30,000 employees of taking part in the October 7 attack. They accused another 190 employees of being Hamas or Islamic Jihad operatives. Some $20 billion will be cut from the IRS and another $6 billion in funds for Covid relief will be clawed back. In the defense appropriations portion of the bill there is $500 million for Israel's defense programs, funding the Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow.

The defense bill also bans any funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and EcoHealth Alliance, believed to be Covid-19's place of origin. Another $3.3 billion will go to Israel under the State-Foreign Operations section of the bill, with new conditions on any assistance to Gaza and stipulations to prevent the money from being used to move the Israeli embassy out of Jerusalem or to implement an Iran nuclear deal.

Democrats have celebrated a list of investments in the package including a $1 billion jump in childcare, boosts for cancer and Alzheimer's research and the addition of 12,000 Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan refugees who fled the Taliban during the U.S. withdrawal. They can also tout a one-year extension of international HIV /AIDS prevention efforts under a program known as PEPFAR.

Johnson has called the new legislation a 'serious commitment' to 'strengthening our national defense' and moving the military to its 'core mission'. 'This FY24 appropriations legislation is a serious commitment to strengthening our national defense by moving the Pentagon toward a focus on its core mission while expanding support for our brave men and women who serve in uniform,' he said. 'Importantly, it halts funding for the United Nations agency which employed terrorists who participated in the October 7 attacks against Israel,' Johnson added.

Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, touted the bill as a win and urged colleagues to vote for it. 'This bill funds our highest national security priorities - it invests in a more modern, innovative, and ready fighting force, continues our strong support for our great ally Israel, and provides key border enforcement resources. At the same time, we made cuts to programs that have nothing to do with our national security and pulled back billions from the Administration.'
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