Congress Budget Deal Cuts Border Wall Plan Short

US Congress leaders have reached a bipartisan deal on around $1 trillion in federal funding to avert a government shutdown on Friday this week.

The proposed pact, reached by Republican and Democratic late on Sunday, will fund public spending until September. It will be put to a vote in the following days, both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, Aljazeera reported.

The deal reportedly increases defense spending by $25 billion and border security budget by $1.5 billion. This money is not to be spent on the so-called deportation force and there are no cuts to federal funding for sanctuary cities—municipalities that do not prosecute undocumented immigrants for violating federal immigration laws.

The agreement makes the US “stronger and safer”, House Speaker Paul Ryan said in statement, because “it acts on President Trump’s commitment to rebuild our military for the 21st century and bolster our nation’s border security to protect our homeland”.

Yet, to get the document passed, Trump had to make concessions to the Democrats. One of the biggest campaign promises-the construction of a wall bordering Mexico-had to be put off yet again, because the budget deal does not include any funding for it.

The White House last week had dropped the request over concerns about passage of the broader spending bill; Republicans will need support from Democrats in the Senate to pass the legislation.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer went on record saying that an “ineffective” construction project such as the border wall to Mexico would not be funded from taxpayers’ money.

The Democrats were also able to force other issues during the negotiations. The city of New York was given $68 million to cover the expense of protecting the president and his family during their stay at Trump Tower.