Congressional leaders are poised to meet in a snowy Washington on Wednesday to finalize a deal on a $1.3 trillion spending package that could include money for border barriers, but not President Trump’s wall.
The White House has demanded $1.6 billion in funding for the president’s signature issue, one of several fights that has held up talks days before a possible government shutdown.
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It appears the legislation will fall well-short of Trump’s demands, but could include $641 million for 33 miles of new border fencing. It would also include $1.296 billion in funding new border technology. The funding would only be used for levees and fences, not a concrete wall, according to the source familiar with the discussions.
Trump hoped to win $25 billion in money that could be put in a trust for the wall.
Negotiators are edging closer on several other contentious issues, the source said. They have agreed the bill will not include new provisions aimed at Planned Parenthood or action on “sanctuary cities,” which do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
It would add $2.8 billion in funding to address the opioid epidemic, directed both at substance abuse programs and National Institutes of Health research, plus some $687 million in new funding to secure U.S. elections and combat Russian cyberattacks.