UPDATE 4: The U.S. Congress has passed a $1.66 trillion funding bill. Biden will sign
(Additional information on social program investment in paragraphs 7-8
By Richard Cowan, Moira Warrenburton, and Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) – The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a $1.66 trillion government funding bill that provides record military funding and sends emergency aid to Ukraine, hours before a midnight deadline.
Following passage by the Senate the day before, the spending bill covering the fiscal year ending September 30 was passed on a largely party line vote of 225 to 201.
President Joe Biden stated that he would sign this hard-fought legislation. It also provides more assistance for students with disabilities, more funding to protect workers’ rights, more job-training resources and more job-training tools. There is also more affordable housing for veterans, families and people fleeing domestic violence.
Biden stated that the bipartisan funding bill “promotes key priorities for our nation and caps off an historic year of bipartisan progress for American citizens.”
This vote marked the end of the current 117th Congress. The Congress had delivered many major victories to Biden in the last two years. These included a huge COVID-19 assistance stimulus bill, the first major infrastructure funding measure in years, and a bill spending billions to combat climate change. A modest gun control law was also passed.
Some of the work was done bipartisanly, but Friday’s $1.66 TILLION funding bill was rejected by both the House Republican and Senate conservatives. The gridlock in Congress will likely deepen next year, if Republicans win a narrow majority in the House.
The Senate passed the bill, which was over 4,000 pages long, on a bipartisan vote (68-29), with the support from 18 of 50 Senate Republicans, including Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell.
Only nine of the 213 House Republicans supported it.
Kevin McCarthy, the leader of the group, strongly opposed the bill and called it “one among the most shameful acts” he’d seen in Congress. McCarthy was there when a mob backed by Donald Trump stormed Congress on Jan. 6, 2021 in an attempt to hang Trump’s vice president.
McCarthy, who seeks to become the next speaker, has been trying to get support from his most conservative Republican colleagues.
Far-right Republicans wanted drastic domestic spending cuts that this spending bill, called “omnibus”, does not achieve. They threatened to block any legislation proposed by Senate Republicans that supported the bill.
Many House Republicans wanted the negotiations to be halted until they have the majority of the vote early next year. It will however be difficult for Republican leaders to pass it, as they will now control the chamber starting Jan. 3.
McCarthy can now concentrate on his bid for the powerful House speaker position.
Although the majority of his caucus supports him in principle, some conservative Republicans voiced concern that he would need the support of the majority of the 435-member House.
Democrats are likely to vote for Representative Hakeem Jeffreyries to become speaker in a symbolic effort.
PARTISAN RANCHO
Friday was a day of raw emotions.
In a speech, Republican Representative Tim Burchett stated that “You all railroad this $1.7 trillion bill filled with garbage without any regard to what it’s costing Americans.”
Burchett, like many Republicans, also attacked the attached emergency aid to help Ukraine defeat invading Russian troops.
Burchett stated, “Over $45 Billion for Ukraine. Europe should be shouldering these costs.”
Steny Hogue, a Democrat and House Majority Leader, retorted, saying, “This sweeping package, while not garbage, is everything but garbage.” He added, “It is in fact the essence supporting our national safety, our domestic security, the welfare of our citizens.”
This legislation would give the Defense Department a record $858billion, an increase of $740billion last year.
National security concerns led legislators to include a provision banning the use of TikTok, a Chinese social media app, on federal government devices.
The budget for non-military programs is estimated at $800 billion, or $68 billion per fiscal 2022.
The new U.S. emergency aid to Ukraine will be $44.9 billion. The bill’s debate was interrupted by the visit of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Ukraine. He thanked Americans and stated that U.S. aid was a “good investment.”
The bill also includes over $27 billion in spending for victims of natural catastrophes, an increase in funding for drug addicts and funding for major infrastructure projects.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Moira Warburton; Editing done by Scott Malone and Lisa Shumaker; Alistair Bell