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Here are 4 massive policy changes that Congress tucked into its 2,371-page spending package
Here are 4 massive policy changes that Congress tucked into its 2,371-page spending package
Joseph Zeballos-RoigDec 18, 2019, 22:15 IST
Congress is about to pass a major $1.4 trillion budget that President Trump will likely sign into law later this week.
It caps a frenzy of legislative activity among Democrats and Republicans still wrestling over President Trump's impeachment.
But sandwiched into the 2,371-page spending bills are four massive policy changes that reflect both Republican and Democratic priorities.
Taxes funding Obamacare are to be scrapped; the smoking age will be raised; exporters will regain access to government-backed loans and the federal government will once again fund gun violence research after two decades.
Congress is steadily advancing sweeping government spending bills toward President Trump's desk that he is expected to sign into law later this week.
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The $1.4 trillion budget caps a spasm of legislative activity among Democrats and Republicans over the last two weeks. With the House preparing a divisive impeachment vote against Trump, both parties are eager to demonstrate their ability to govern and also steer federal dollars toward their constituents.
Passing the legislation would enable the government to keep its doors open for another year and provide stability for a web of federal agencies critical for essential services.
Last year, a brutal spending fight led to a 35-day government shutdown, the longest in American history. But partisanship has temporarily given way to a burst of dealmaking and horse-trading in a bid to avert that.
Here are four massive policy changes tucked into the 2,371-page spending package that reflect both Republican and Democratic priorities.
Under the Tobacco-Free Youth Act, the United States is slated to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco and e-cigarettes from 18 to 21. The move drew bipartisan support after a backlash against the rising popularity of e-cigarettes.
Some unlikely backers of the move include the Marlboro cigarette maker and vaping titan Juul. Critics say they're trying to thwart even more stringent government regulation targeting their most popular flavored products.
The spending legislation would eliminate 3 healthcare taxes intended to fund the Affordable Care Act.
Congress is scrapping three taxes aimed at funding the ACA: the Cadillac tax, the health insurance tax, and the medical device tax.
The Cadillac tax was supposed to raise $200 billion over ten years with a tax on the most generous insurance plans. But a coalition of business and patient advocacy groups mobilized to oppose the tax in 2015 and it never went into effect. The House overwhelmingly voted to kill it earlier this year.
The health insurance tax generated government revenue from insurers while the medical device tax applied to products like hospital beds and X-ray machines. Both were sporadically put in place.
The taxes sparked controversy and they were not popular even among Democrats. But the healthcare industry came out ahead and scored big wins in the budget.
The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that axing the taxes would save the industry over $380 billion.
The controversial Export-Import Bank would be reauthorized for 7 years.
The Export-Import Bank helps US businesses compete abroad with affordable government-backed loans that boost their exports – while also lending to overseas corporations seeking to buy domestically.
The spending deal would fund it for seven years, rendering it active after legislative battles effectively crippled the agency years ago.
Republicans long assailed the Ex-Im bank for easing multibillion dollar deals allowing companies abroad to buy airplanes or arrange infrastructure contracts with domestic producers. They argue its similar to the government picking winners and losers.
Supporters, though, contend the bank levels the playing field between American manufacturers and foreign buyers that receive support from their own government.
Congress would fund research into gun violence for the first time in over two decades.
The spending bill will empower the government to once again fund research into the causes of gun violence, which Democrats touted as a major success.
The $25 million will be split between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Health. Republicans, though, crafted language stipulating the money couldn't be used to push gun control measures.
Congress had been barred since 1996 from earmarking money to study gun violence
The CDC reported that 39,773 people died from gun-related injuries in 2017, the last year with data fully available.
