“The failure once again of Congress to deal with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) crisis is an ongoing disgrace. The crisis is entirely artificial — created by President Trump when he decided to end President Obama’s deportation deferral program by March 5. A majority in Congress and in the country favor relief for DACA recipients.

“The crisis continues because the majority leaders in Congress have refused to schedule a vote. While there is hope that the Senate will act on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s promise to do so now, there is no such promise from House Speaker Paul Ryan. The pressure for an immediate solution with a path to citizenship — that does not include border wall funding, an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, family reunification limits, and an end to the diversity visa program — must continue.

“Nevertheless, there were some victories to applaud in the compromise package. The caps were raised on non-defense discretionary spending, resulting in an additional $5.8 billion over the next two years for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program, the main federal child care program. The compromise would allow an additional 230,000 children to receive child care assistance and help states boost the quality of child care. Funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was extended to 10 years as part of the deal.

“Other funding increases were adopted for community health centers, new grants and prevention programs to combat the opioid crisis and improve mental health care, money for research at the National Institutes of Health, Veterans Administration hospitals and health clinics, as well as the elimination of the Medicare ‘donut hole’ — a glitch in the program that can force seniors with higher drug costs to pay a lot more money out of pocket more quickly.

“Many who opposed these increases as budget busters that will vastly increase government debt are the same legislators who voted for massive tax cuts for corporations and the rich. No doubt we will all have to fight to protect the gains made in the budget deal in addition to a real and permanent solution for the Dreamers.”