One day before the House vote on US President Donald Trump's impeachment, the lower chamber of the US Congress displayed an eyebrow-raising show of unity, adopting a 2,300-page spending bill that will tend to the interests of both Democrats and Republicans.
The US House passed a $1.4-trillion spending bill on Tuesday intended to fund the US government through next September, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown akin to last year's political crisis.
The budget was presented and voted upon in two separate parts, out of political and tactical reasons. The part that focused on domestic issues passed with a 297-120 vote. The second part, which funds the military and Department of Homeland Security projects, passed with a 280-138 vote.
Tax Credit Extenders
A major part of the spending bill focuses on taxes and tax credits. It secures a $39-billion package of tax breaks for specific narrow industries, such as craft brewers and distillers, renewable energy and others. The package passed the vote despite criticism from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget that it will add some $500 billion to US national debt over the next decade.
Obamacare Repeal
In particular, the new spending bill includes a $428-billion tax cut intended to repeal three of the Affordable Healthcare Act (aka ‘Obamacare') taxes over the next 10 years.
Specifically, the bill repeals the tax on high-cost health insurance benefits, known…
