February 07, 2018
My modest additions to five paragraphs of the NYT article on the budget deal:
“The deal would raise the spending caps by about $300 billion over two years (3.5 percent of projected spending), according to a congressional aide. The limit on military spending would be increased by $80 billion in the current fiscal year (2.0 percent of spending) and $85 billion in the next year (1.9 percent of spending), which begins Oct. 1, the aide said. The limit on nondefense spending would increase by $63 billion this year (1.5 percent of spending) and $68 billion next year (1.6 percent of spending).
The deal will cause federal budget deficits to grow even larger, on top of the effects of the sweeping tax overhaul that lawmakers approved in December. But because the agreement gives both parties what they wanted most, the deficit impact appears to be of little concern. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Speaker Paul D. Ryan all quickly embraced it.
From the increase in domestic spending, Mr. Schumer said the deal includes $20 billion for infrastructure (0.2 percent of spending [all calculations assume a two-year figure]), $6 billion for the opioid crisis and mental health (0.07 percent of spending), $5.8 billion for child care (0.07 percent of spending) and $4 billion for Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics (0.05 percent of spending). It also includes disaster relief for areas hit by last year’s hurricanes and wildfires.
The deal also includes $4.9 billion — two years of full federal funding — for Medicaid in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands (0.06 percent of spending), helping to avoid a looming Medicaid shortfall. There is additional money to repair infrastructure, hospital and community health centers severely damaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
The relief aid also includes $28 billion in community development block grants (0.33 percent of spending), including $11 billion for Puerto Rico (0.13 percent of spending), with $2 billion of that going to repair the power grid (0.02 percent of spending). About 30 percent of Puerto Ricans — more than 400,000 customers — still don’t have electricity more than four months after Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico requested $94.4 billion in aid after the storm.”
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