By signing this agreement, the legislators avoid the sequestration or the flat-rate reduction of expenses required by the 2011 budgetary control law, which applied until the 2021 financial year. The sequestration would have had devastating effects on the funding of housing and community development programs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, non-military discretionary spending would have been cut by $55 billion without the new budget deal to raise the caps, down about 10 percent from the 2019 fiscal year level. Only 65 Republicans joined the Democratic majority in the 284-149 vote, with 132 Republicans voting against the law, despite President Trump`s support and pressure from some outside groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, to avoid a potentially catastrophic default on government debt. Democrats had enough numbers to pass the deal without Republican support, despite concerns from some liberals about increased military spending over the next two years. Only 16 of them voted no. The deal does not fund federal agencies, with a government ceasefire still possible at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The House of Representatives and Senate have yet to pass a dozen funding laws for fiscal year 2020, which Trump must also sign. President Trump announced late Monday that the government had reached an agreement with the leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate to lift spending limits and raise the debt ceiling with a two-year budget deal. It was only after the government`s 35-day ceasefire this year that lawmakers in 2019 allowed a 1.9 percent wage increase for civilian employees. Agencies only started implementing the 2019 increase in April, with retroactive effect to January 1. .

. .