These are austere times for government in America, with budgets shrinking for everything from the army to the National Zoo. Republicans in Congress have taken every opportunity to enact new cuts, threatening shutdown and default if Democrats do not go along. Many have also resisted the proposed immigration reforms working their way through the Senate, in part on the grounds that they would add to the government's burdens by allowing newly admitted legions to sponge off Uncle Sam. So it seems odd, to say the least, that the bill's backers managed to secure more Republican support by agreeing to spend an extra $38 billion on it, largely by padding the government payroll.
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