House Democrats plan to call up a two-year deal to lift federal budget caps and suspend the debt ceiling and they say they’ve got the votes to pass it, despite criticism from conservatives.
The nearly $1.4 trillion package has sparked sharp rebuke from fiscal conservatives and is likely to be rejected by many Republicans.
The measure busts spending caps by $320 billion over the next two fiscal years and it allows the Treasury to borrow money without limits until July 31, 2021.
But enough GOP lawmakers, including House Republican leadership, will side with most House Democrats to pass the measure, in part because they want to avoid another politically disastrous government shutdown and because the proposal has the backing of President Trump.
“I think we will have the votes,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, said.
Republican leaders informed party lawmakers in a memo Tuesday that they are urging support for the deal, despite criticism from Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, that the pact should include more offsets.
The proposal would provide about $77 billion in revenue through fees and cuts to dormant accounts, which Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, called “a drop in the bucket.”
The nation’s deficit is approaching $1 trillion, and the debt exceeds $22 trillion.
The Democrats view the measure as good enough, but not exactly what they wanted.
Many had hoped for higher domestic spending levels and oppose an unwritten pledge from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, to leave out favored Democratic pro-abortion language considered “poison pills,” when Congress sits down to write actual spending legislation.
But Democrats Wednesday left a closed-door briefing on the deal with a top budget official without many complaints.
Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Democrats at the meeting that they should back the agreement.
“His message conveyed we actually got the very best deal we could for the American public,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, said after the meeting.
House Democrats are satisfied with the proposed $632 billion in spending on domestic budgets for fiscal 2020, which is an increase of 4.5%.
Military spending for next year increased to $738 billion, but is an increase of 3%, less than the House increase.
Democrats are also happy to dodge the across-the-board spending cuts that would have happened if they did not lift the caps. And they are happy the accord does not extend the Budget Control Act, which is the law requiring the cuts.
“Way above expectations on that budget deal,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, said Wednesday.
“There’s actually more money for non-defense discretionary than for defense. Things are better than we had before, certainly.”
Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Florida, said Greenstein’s backing was key, even though some progressives wanted more.
“For the progressives sitting in the room, that’s what we needed to hear,” she said. “Some people will hold their noses, but we do that on a lot of votes here.”
