At this point, can anyone even pretend to be surprised?
IMMIGRATION:
The bill only funds the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees most immigration policy, until February. But negotiators gave new money for immigration programs at other federal agencies. There’s $948 million for the Department of Health and Human Service’s unaccompanied children program — an $80 million increase. The program provides health and education services to the young migrants. The department also gets $14 million to help school districts absorbing new immigrant students. And the State Department would get $260 million to assist Central American countries from where of the immigrant children are coming.AFFORDABLE CARE ACT:The law is still
funded, but there’s no new money for it. There’s also no new ACA-related
funding for the Internal Revenue Service and the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services, the two agencies most responsible for
implementing the law. The bill also would cut the budget of the
Independent Payment Advisory Board — what Republicans have called “the
death panel” — by $10 million.OVERSEAS MILITARY OPERATIONS:There’s $1.3
billion for a new Counterterrorism Partnership Fund; $5 billion for
military operations to combat the Islamic State, including $1.6 billion
to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces; $500 million for a Pentagon-led
program to train and equip vetted Syrian opposition fighters; $810
million for ongoing military operations in Europe, including
requirements that at least $175 million is spent in support of Ukraine
and Baltic nationSEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE MILITARY:There’s
$257 million for the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
programs, including $25 million more to expand the Sexual Assault
Victims’ Counsel program. But Democrats, led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
(D-N.Y.), are expected to make a final push to expand the program this
week.
As Drudge puts it: “REPUBLICAN BETRAYAL: OBAMACARE FULLY FUNDED AMNESTY TOO!”
But no doubt Republican lawmakers will hasten to point out that there is no ADDITIONAL money for Obamacare. By Washington standards, that counts as a severe budget cut.