Lawmakers strike spending deal to avert shutdown

a Lawmakers reached a deal in principle Thursday on 12 annual spending bills to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. Appropriators reached agreement on a number of contentious issues, including how to fund President Trump's proposed border wall. “We had a very good meeting, and there’s a meeting of the minds, and we’re going to look through some of the details, but I feel confident that we’re going to have a product very shortly,” House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said following days of negotiations. Details of the legislation remain under wraps, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he expects to bring the legislation up for a vote on Tuesday, likely grouped into at least two packages. Democrats say they have received assurances that Trump will sign the bills once they pass, averting a shutdown after the Dec. 20 funding deadline. Though Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had been involved in meetings, including one on Tuesday and two on Thursday morning, lawmakers said the White House took a hands-off approach to the final round of negotiations. “They’ve been involved,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), “but we have to make the decisions."...MORE

While lawmakers said Thursday that the major issues had been buttoned up, the details of the agreement were not expected to be made public until Monday.  

Made public on Monday, vote on Tuesday. Not much time for "deliberation" or input from the public.

Committee staffs are expected to work through the weekend to finalize language and smaller issues ahead of the likely Tuesday vote.

That tells you who is really writing the bill. No word on what, if anything, is in there on BLM reorganization.

The agreement on $1.37 trillion in spending follows months of wrangling. Over the summer, Democrats and Republicans struck a deal to increase overall defense and domestic spending levels by billions of dollars, averting scheduled cuts that were enshrined into law.

Once again demonstrating that Congress will not comply with legislation that purportedly limits spending. They will simply amend the statute and spend away.

But despite slow-going talks over the past week, appropriators stayed determined to hammer out a deal in order to pass all 12 bills before the Christmas holiday. They feared that failure to do so would result in a months-long stopgap lasting until after a likely impeachment trial in the Senate. 

What is it that they fear? The only thing both parties fear: a delay in increased spending.