BUDGET/CONGRESS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump signed a two-year, $2.7 trillion budget agreement Friday [8-2-19] that wards off $126 billion in automatic spending cuts and suspends the debt ceiling through July 2021, according to a senior administration official. The deal does not fund federal agencies, with a government shutdown still possible at the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year. The House and Senate must still pass a dozen fiscal 2020 funding bills, which Trump must also sign. The bipartisan budget package increases military and non-military spending by $320 billion above the budget caps that would have taken effect if Congress failed to stop sequestration. Under the deal, defense programs would see a 3 percent hike in fiscal 2020, topping off at $738 billion. Non-defense programs would increase 4 percent over current levels to a total of $632 billion, which includes a $2.5 billion adjustment for the 2020 census. The agreement also includes about $77 billion in offsets, which are expected to kick in near the end of a decade and are unlikely to take effect.”
–Caitlin Emma, “Trump signs 2-year budget deal,” Politico, August 2, 2019 1:19 pm