What’s in the massive deals Congress made overnight?

WASHINGTON — While much of the nation slept, Congressional leaders unveiled two deals that are stuffed with major issues, from what the nation does with its oil and how it supports renewable fuel to a significant change at U.S. borders and a controversial proposal to increase the National Security Agency’s abilities online.

The larger of the two plans would fund government for the rest of the fiscal year and comes as spending for most of government is set to expire Wednesday at midnight. Leaders plan to keep government running with another short-term fix, funding agencies through Dec. 22. That will give Congress time to debate and vote on the long-term bill.

READ MORE: Massive year-end spending bill includes cybersecurity act

The other proposal is a bill extending and creating dozens of tax breaks.

Whenever Congress rolls out legislation in the middle of the night, we pay close attention. Here is what we found in our first look at these twin deals.

$1 Trillion Spending Bill

Known by the appropriately impressive, and painful-sounding, term “Omnibus Spending Bill,” this bill would fund most of the federal government through the end of September 2016. Key highlights:

• $1.1 Trillion in spending.
• Biggest increase: New $1.1 billion in funding for research on traumatic brain injury and suicide in the military.
• Funding frozen: For the IRS. Republicans are highly critical of the agency.

Energy

• More oil sales. A 40-year ban on exporting U.S. oil would be reversed by the bill, opening markets for American companies and potentially affecting world markets. Republicans tout this as a major win.
• More renewable energy. The bill extends key tax credits for wind and solar energy, ultimately phasing them out over five years. This was a Democratic priority.

Security

• Cybersecurity and surveillance powers. The bill includes something known as CISA, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. Supporters say it would help American companies defend themselves against cyberattack by sharing data with the National Security Agency. But the bill has sharp critics who believe it opens a back door to wide government surveillance of personal data.
• Security increase, visa waivers block. The bill includes a House-passed proposal to require visas from some citizens of friendly countries — those who are dual citizens of or had recently visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria.

Immigration

• Refugees allowed. The bill does not increase requirements for Syrian or Iraqi refugees.
• More agents and judges. The bill funds an additional 1080 Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents as well as 55 immigration judges and support teams to speed up deportation hearings.
• E-Verify. The program that helps employers check if job applicants are in the country legally is fully funded in this bill.

Genetics

• This bill would ban scientists from editing the DNA or genome of human embryos for the foreseeable future.

What we eat

• Less food labeling. The bill ends a requirement known as “Country of Origin Labeling” which required that grocery stores indicate the origin of meats, fish and many fruits and vegetable. This is a win for Canada and other nations which sell meats to the United States and to those concerned that the policy was in violation of World Trade Organization agreements.
• No calories on menus. Currently, U.S. law is set to require all restaurants to list calorie counts on their menus by 2016. The omnibus spending bill pushes that back one year.

9/11 Responders

• The bill permanently approves the act which provides care for first responders and other emergency personnel who worked on the scene of the Twin Tower collapse in New York and who have suffered illness as a result.

Obamacare

• Obamacare tax blocked. The so-called “Cadillac Tax,” a fee for health plans with the biggest benefits, would be delayed for two years under the deal.

READ MORE: Massive tax package offers breaks for just about everyone

Tax Cut Extension Bill

This one is known as the “tax extenders” bill and is an annual end-of-the-year tradition. Lawmakers typically renew dozens of tax breaks for businesses from NASCAR to rum manufacturers. This year’s bill stands out because many of the provisions are extended two years or permanently.

• $750 billion in tax breaks.
• Medical device tax frozen. A 2.3 cent tax on medical devices that was included in the Affordable Care Act will be repealed for two years. The tax has applied to a wide range of items used in hospitals, from surgical gloves to cardiac stents and artificial knees and hips. It has not applied to retail items like contact lenses and wheelchairs.
• Tax help for big donors. The bill adds a new section making it clear that donors to special interest groups — those filing as 501c(4), 501c(5) or 501c(6) groups — do not have to pay a gift tax for their contribution. This lifts a multimillion-dollar concern for billionaire donors like the conservative Koch Brothers or liberal Tom Steyer.
• The IRS. With this bill, Republicans would ban IRS employees from using personal email accounts to conduct official business and would calls for the firing of any IRS employee who makes politically-motivated decisions. Consider this a direct response to the Lois Lerner investigation which the Department of Justice closed earlier this year.

This is plenty to debate, but Republican leaders hope to steer this through Congress over the next few days. Stay tuned.