The Latest: Dreamers help, insurer subsidies not in bill
By Associated Press
Mar 21, 2018 9:12 AM CDT
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., meets with reporters following a closed-door Republican strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 20, 2018. Ryan says he's hoping bargainers can resolve the final disputes in a government-wide spending bill in time for Congress to begin voting...   (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on negotiations in Congress over a $1.3 trillion government spending bill (all times local):

10:02 a.m.

Two sources close to congressional budget talks say an emerging government-wide spending bill won't renew protections for young Dreamer immigrants facing possible deportation.

It also won't provide subsidies to insurers who cut costs for low-earning customers. And it won't have federal payments to carriers to help them afford to cover their costliest clients.

Both health proposals were aimed at curbing premium increases and had bipartisan support. Democrats wouldn't accept Republican demands to include abortion restrictions on the money.

President Donald Trump has ended protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. In return for renewing them, White House bargainers wanted more than the $1.6 billion the final bill contains for border security including Trump's proposed wall with Mexico.

The Republican and Democratic sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak on the record about a bill that isn't yet public.

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7:10 a.m.

Talks over a $1.3 trillion government spending bill are almost complete as the White House and Capitol Hill Democrats ironed out deals on a scaled-back first round of funding for President Donald Trump's border wall.

Congressional aides said Trump would win $1.6 billion for constructing older designs and border security technology but would be denied a more recent, far larger request for multi-year funding.

Negotiators planned to officially unveil the massive government-wide spending bill later Wednesday in hopes of passing it before a Friday midnight deadline to avoid a government shutdown.

The bill would give Trump a huge budget increase for the military while Democrats would cement wins on infrastructure and other domestic programs that they failed to get under President Barack Obama.

The aides required anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about an agreement that is not yet public.

-By Andrew Taylor

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12:18 a.m.

Talks over a $1.3 trillion government spending bill are dragging on as lawmakers find themselves tangled in side issues ahead of a midnight Friday deadline for avoiding a shutdown.

Republican leaders had hoped that a deal could be announced Tuesday evening, allowing for votes in the House and Senate this week.

The measure on the table would provide major funding increases for the Pentagon, bringing the military budget to $700 billion and giving GOP defense hawks a long-sought victory.

Domestic accounts would get a generous 10 percent increase on average, awarding Democrats the sort of spending increases they sought but never secured during the Obama administration.

Holding up an agreement are a scaled-back plan for a border wall with Mexico and a fight over a tunnel under the Hudson River.

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