The Two Major Deals Congress Couldn't Strike

Congress crammed something for just about everyone into the $1.3 trillion spending package unveiled on Wednesday—more money for the military, border security, the opioid epidemic, infrastructure, student loans, election security, and even a few modest measures to prevent gun violence.

But lawmakers whiffed on striking agreements on two of their biggest priorities of the last six months: stabilizing the individual health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act and resolving the status of young undocumented immigrants protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Negotiations over both issues broke down in the final days leading up to a March 23 deadline for funding the government. And given the likelihood that the omnibus spending bill will be the last major piece of legislation enacted before the