Senate passes $1.7 trillion spending bill, a step towards avoiding govt shutdown

Washington: The US Congress walked a step closer towards avoiding a government shutdown as the ruling Democratic Party passed the historic $1.7 trillion spending bill after a week-long discussion in the Senate to keep the state adequately funded through the next fiscal.

The Senate on Thursday reached a quick fix last-minute deal on the sprawling package to keep the government funded through the next fiscal year — and send more aid to Ukraine — while getting one step closer to averting a shutdown just before Christmas, CNN reported. It also avoided a repeat of history that happened in the Trumpian era.

The chamber voted overwhelmingly 68-29 to pass the omnibus spending bill after scrambling through as many as 17 amendments. Eighteen Republicans joined Democrats in approving the bill that would keep federal agencies operational till September 30, 2023 and also showing the sharp divide in the GOP since the November midterms where Trump has been under fire for not turning in a red wave.

Soon after voting, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat) told a news conference that it took “a lot of hard work, a lot of compromise, but we funded the government with an aggressive investment in American families, American workers, and American national defence”.

“It is one of the most significant appropriations packages we’ve done in a really long time,” he said.

The legislation now goes to the House of Representatives for approval, where the Democrats are still in a majority in the current house (in January 2023, Republicans will have 222 seats and Democrats will have 213) before making its way to President Joe Biden’s desk for the final presidential seal of approval.

The ruling party has signed off on the enormous funding package even as it does not include everything White House officials wanted such as increasing Covid-19 funding.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will bow out of office after three decades in January 2023, said at her weekly press conference that the “hope” was the House could pass the bill on Thursday night but noted it takes several hours for it to pass between chambers.

Later on Thursday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the chamber will vote on the omnibus bill on Friday, giving members enough time to go through the text. Hoyer also bows out of office in January 2023 when Kevin McCarthy is favored to take the Speakership of the House.

Legislators literally scrambled to ensure the smooth passage of the bill to the finish line both before Friday’s midnight deadline and before a powerful winter storm unleashes blizzard conditions and severe cold, making their travel home difficult, a CNN report said.

The legislation includes disaster relief, medical services for military veterans, a ban of the use of TikTok on government-issued devices and reforms to the Electoral Count Act to avoid a repeat of the January 6 attack.

The package also includes a $45 billion funding in humanitarian, economic and security assistance for Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a historic visit to Washington on Wednesday to plead for continued financial assistance amid some calls from Republicans for more oversight, telling US lawmakers the money “isn’t charity”.

“It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way,” he said.

How was the deal clinched? Senate majority leader Schumer announced Thursday morning an agreement had been reached to expedite the process of passing the omnibus spending bill.

“I would say that the omnibus was an appropriate metaphor for the last two years … a lot of ups and downs but in the end a great result that really helped the American people,” he said after the bill was passed.

Negotiations hit a snag over an amendment from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that would have reinstated Title 42 — the Trump-era order used to rapidly expel migrants since the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak on the basis of public health concerns, CNN said.

A federal judge ordered Title 42 to expire earlier this week, but Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily paused that ruling as the justices considered a request from Republican-led states to keep the policy in place. The passage in the house now seems a formality as Democrats continue to rule the house and a section of Republicans will join in the voting.