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The Senate passed a $1.7 trillion bipartisan government funding package Thursday, sending the measure to the House for final approval ahead of a midnight Friday shutdown deadline.
The legislation, passed 68-29, is expected to clear the House late Thursday or early Friday before heading to President Biden’s desk.
The $1.7 trillion bill funds the federal government through next September and will mark Congress’ final business of the year.
It includes $773 billion for nondefense discretionary spending and $858 billion for defense funding, a nearly 10% year-over-year increase for the military. The measure also provides $45 billion for Ukraine, and repeals the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the military.
The legislation’s approval in the Senate came after a border policy showdown and amid conservatives lamenting that the price tag was wasteful and ill-timed ahead of Republicans gaining control of the House next month.
The 4,155-page document was passed in the Senate a little more than two days after it was released, in a bid by Congress to avoid a shutdown and allow lawmakers to jet home for the holidays before winter storms upend their plans.
“It’s far too easy for Congress to escape its own rules designed to prevent reckless spending. There hasn’t been enough time for a single person to have read this entire bill,” said Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican. “The bill and process ignores soaring inflation, rising interest rates and our ballooning debt of $31 trillion.
