An Agreement, for Starters
Congressional lawmakers have reached a two-year budget deal with Trump Administration officials that would, if passed and signed into law, increase spending by $320 billion, the New York Times reports.
The deal removes a requirement that Congress reduce discretionary spending in 2020 by $125 billion and avoids triggering sequestration, ScienceInsider adds. Under this agreement, the new spending level for civilian agencies would be $632 billion, a $27 billion increase, it says.
“By avoiding sequester and providing increased funding for defense and non-defense spending, this agreement empowers our nation to boost funding for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies that leverage research and science to save lives,” Research!America President and CEO Mary Woolley says in a statement.
ScienceInsider notes that the spending level for civilian agencies under this agreement is nearly on par with defense spending and that it is only slightly less than what Democrats proposed in appropriations bills earlier this year.
The Times adds, though, that the deal still has to be voted on by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.