Senate Leaders Reached A Bipartisan Spending Agreement To Increase Federal Spending By Nearly $300 Billion Over Two Years

On February 7, 2018, congressional leadership reached a bipartisan spending agreement that sets top-line funding levels for all federal agencies for the next two years, and increases spending at defense and non-defense agencies by a total of $300 billion.

Lawmakers combined the two-year spending deal with a short-term measure to keep the government operating when funding ran out on February 8. The measure was designed to keep the government open through March 23 to give lawmakers time to write longer-term spending bills.

Notably, this spending agreement suspends the federal debt ceiling until March 2019. In addition, defense spending would increase by $80 billion over current law in this fiscal year and $85 billion in the fiscal year that begins on October 1. Further, non-defense spending would rise by $63 billion this year and by $68 billion next year. Finally, the spending agreement provides disaster assistance for hurricanes and wildfires of between $80 billion and $90 billion, including funds to rebuild Puerto Rico's hurricane-damaged electrical system.

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