Ahead of the holiday weekend, the House signed off on a massive
$1.7 trillion omnibus package, capping off weeks of drama to lock down government funding through September.
The bill passed largely along party lines, 225-201-1, a day after the Senate approved the bill in a bipartisan vote. The legislation now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
The bill includes $772.5 billion in nondefense discretionary spending and $858 billion in defense funding.
It also includes more than $40 billion in funding to support Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion — exceeding the White House's request, as well as $38 billion in emergency disaster assistance.
The passage comes days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s dramatic visit to Washington, D.C., where he met with Biden and gave a rare prime-time address to a joint session of Congress amid questions about whether the House will support continued assistance to Ukraine when Republicans take control of the chamber next month.
The funding legislation includes other items on lawmakers' year-end wish lists, including a ban on TikTok on federal government phones, after both parties have expressed concern over China’s government having access to data about U.S. citizens.
It also includes legislation known as the Electoral Count Reform Act, which clarifies that the vice president’s role in certifying a presidential election is ceremonial. That measure aims to prevent a repeat of the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of former President Trump's supporters stormed the building to try to stop the certification of Biden's win.
Read more about the omnibus bill here.
- President Biden hailed the spending bill's passage as proof that Republicans and Democrats can come together.
-
Here are five highlights from the omnibus.
-
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) gave a nearly
25-minute floor speech opposing the government funding package.
-
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) was the only House Democrat to vote against the omnibus Friday, voting “no” because it increases funding for defense and agencies that oversee immigration.
