Keeping the government funded was nearly an afterthought after Republicans celebrated passage of their historic tax bill and ditched town for the holiday season.

But in the rush to close out a year of turmoil in Washington, Congress left disaster aid, Dreamers and pensioners on the back burner, and gave only a temporary reprieve to children’s health insurance and spying powers. Even though lawmakers stripped out most additions to the spending bill, GOP leaders scrambled for days to clear it.


The indecision meant that Congress is in for a long winter of debate about the things that divide Republicans and another shutdown battle, with most funding expiring again on Jan. 19. Here’s a look at what was in the funding bill and what was left out:

Short-term funding:

— The Children’s Health Insurance Program gained a spending patch through March 31, but the fate of the long-bipartisan program remained in flux. Partisan squabbling continued over how Congress should pay for the program, after it was shunted aside earlier in the year as Republicans tried to repeal Obamacare and pushed their tax reform plans.

— The controversial snooping programs authorized under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act were extended through Jan. 19. The provisions at the center of the fight allow the U.S. government to spy on foreigners’ internet and phone activity abroad, even if it picks up Americans’ communications along the way. But deep divisions within the GOP and across the two chambers made it hard to see a path forward for a long-term bill.

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— The cash-drained National Flood Insurance Program was extended and will keep making payouts through at least Jan. 19. Republicans in the House and Senate remained far from an agreement about how to keep the program solvent long-term. Even before this year’s deadly hurricane season, the flood insurance program was already $25 billion in debt.

— The Pentagon’s budget was provided an extra $4.6 billion for missile defense programs and repairs to two badly damaged Navy destroyers. Congressional leaders still did not agree how much to spend on overall defense spending (or nondefense) for fiscal year 2018.

— The Veterans Choice Program, which allows some veterans to see private doctors and use private hospitals, was given another extra $2.1 billion (the same amount it received in August) to last into fall 2018.

— Both chambers easily agreed to waive federally mandated PAYGO cuts that would have been triggered by the GOP’s $1.5 trillion tax law next year. This was the only item on Congress’ checklist that won't need a fix at all in 2018.

What Congress left behind:

— Roughly $81 billion in disaster aid was pulled out of the spending bill at the last minute after facing resistance among some House conservatives and Democrats who demanded more funding for Puerto Rico. A separate bill that already cleared the House will now be considered by the Senate in January.

— Democrats ultimately backed down on their threats to hold up the spending bill until they secured a fix for so-called Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who came to the country as minors. A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers has worked toward a compromise bill that could reach a vote in January.

— Funding for looming pension shortfalls was again left out of the spending bill, despite pushes from a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers. Congress has been asked to chip in for pension plans for miners, Teamster truck drivers and food service workers to avert insolvency in the next few years.