President Trump signed an $854 billion spending bill Friday that will keep the federal government open into the new fiscal year, and he criticized Democrats for refusing to fully fund his border wall.
The legislation funds most federal agencies through fiscal year 2019, which begins Monday, and delays a showdown with Congress over further funding for the border wall until Dec. 7. Mr. Trump noted that he has secured $1.6 billion so far “to keep building the wall.”
“Unfortunately, the radical Democrats refuse to support border security and want drugs and crime to pour into our country,” Mr. Trump said in a statement.
The measure fully funds the Department of Defense at a record level of $716 billion, plus the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. It includes a 2.6-percent pay raise for troops, the largest in nine years.
The funding will pay for 93 new F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighters, 142 Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, and 13 Navy battle force ships, all of which Mr. Trump said are “made right here in the USA.”
“This is the first time in more than a decade that our Defense Department has been given a full year of funding on time without relying on continuing [budget] resolutions,” he said.
The spending package also pays $1.5 billion to increase school safety; increases funding for school choice by $42 million; increases funding for veterans vocational education and the Perkins Career and Technical Education legislation; and directs $6.7 billion on programs for substance use and mental health, including opioid and heroin abuse.
“The signing of this legislation marks a drastic turnaround in the way we have funded the government in recent years,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Shelby, Alabama Republican, said in a statement. “As of today, 75 percent of the government is funded – on time and through an open, bipartisan process.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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