The House of Representatives today approved the $ 1.1 trillion budget bill for the remainder of the fiscal year, which will be approved by the Senate as soon as possible.
Soon as tomorrow, thus avoiding the partial closure of the federal government this Friday.
With 309 votes in favor and 118 against, the measure also contains $ 295 million to help Puerto Rico in its health care programs, and funds for health care subsidies known as “Obamacare,” something that Republicans wanted trim.
The bipartisan agreement to approve the bill comes after weeks of tense negotiations, as President Donald Trump had insisted on including a game to start building the wall on the US-Mexican border.
Trump resisted those demands, clearing the way for a final agreement.
The National Institutes of Health will have a budget increase of $ 2 billion to a total of $ 34 billion, while the agreement protects 99% of the EPA’s budget and increases funding for clean energy despite Of Trump’s attempts to make cuts in these areas.
In addition, a $ 1 billion fund for potential famines in Africa or the Middle East and an additional $ 600 million to combat the opiate crisis in the United States is also envisaged.
Nor does the text undermine the provisions of Wall Street regulation under the Dodd-Frank law – approved after the 2008 crisis to further control the financial sector – as the conservatives claimed.
The victory for the Republicans is that the budget law increases by 1.5 billion dollars for border security and by 15 billion defense funds, although the president had requested double.
