The US Congress is planning to use a US$1.4 trillion package of two must-pass spending bills to repeal healthcare taxes, raise the age for tobacco purchases to 21 and extend the US Export-Import Bank for seven years, legislation released on Monday showed.
Negotiations continued up until the last minute on the bills, which need to pass the US House of Representatives and the US Senate before funding expires on Friday. Although the bills have been filed, further changes could be made as amendments.
Healthcare taxes that would be repealed include a 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices and a health insurance industry fee that would have taken effect next year, one congressional aide said on Monday.
The spending package would also repeal the “Cadillac tax,” a 40 percent excise tax on the most generous and expensive health insurance plans, which would have taken effect in 2022.
These taxes, which have been delayed previously, highlight the conflicting forces pulling at Democrats in Congress, who are keen to support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but also wary of raising taxes on heathcare costs.
The repeals were attached to two packages of spending bills to provide the funds needed to avoid a shutdown of the US government after Friday and to operate federal agencies through September next year.
The bills are the result of weeks of bipartisan talks between Democratic and Republican lawmakers and the White House.
The House was scheduled to vote yesterday, with the Senate voting before the Friday deadline.
Lawmakers are still negotiating an additional amendment that could include extensions of tax breaks for biodiesel, short-line railroads and motor racing tracks.
The White House has not explicitly supported the bills and did not respond to a request for a response.
Still, US President Donald Trump is expected to sign them and avoid a repeat of a 35-day shutdown earlier this year sparked by his demands for border wall funding.
The government is running on stopgap funding because none of the 12 annual appropriations bills had been enacted by the Oct. 1 start of fiscal year 2020.
While the wall could have proved to be a contentious issue in this year’s federal funding as well, Republicans and Democrats agreed to keep the “status quo” in place.
The spending deal announced on Monday provides US$1.375 billion in new wall funding and leaves it to the courts to decide whether Trump has the power to raid military construction accounts to fund the project.
The funding bills would not replenish US$3.6 billion Trump took from those accounts last year.
It does give Trump greater flexibility than last year as to where he can build the wall, a senior Republican aide said, adding that it maintains his transfer authority to use other funds for the wall.
The aide said that all existing anti-abortion and pro-gun provisions, which Republicans support, have been maintained and there are no new provisions supporting abortion.
In addition to reauthorizing the bank, the measure would direct it to assist exports that compete with China.
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