House passes $1.7T spending bill that includes Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — A $1.7 trillion spending bill financing federal agencies through September and providing more aid to a devastated Ukraine cleared the House on Friday as lawmakers raced to finish their work for the year and avoid a partial government shutdown.
The bill passed mostly along party lines, 225-201. It now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
Passage of the bill represented a closing act for Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s second stint as House speaker, and for the Democratic majority she led back to power in the 2018 election. Republicans will take control of the House next year and Rep. Kevin McCarthy is campaigning to replace her.
He is appealing for support from staunch conservatives in his caucus who have largely trashed the size of the bill and many of the priorities it contains. He spoke with a raised voice for about 25 minutes, assailing the bill for spending too much and doing too little to curb illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl across the U.S.Mexico border.
“This is a monstrosity that is one of the most shameful acts I’ve ever seen in this body,” Mr. McCarthy said of the legislation.
The speech prompted a quick quip from Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who said “after listening to that, it’s clear he doesn’t have the votes yet,” a reference to Mr. McCarthy’s campaign to become speaker.
Ms. Pelosi said “we have a big bill here because we had big needs for the country,” then turned her focus to Mr. McCarthy:
“It was sad to hear the minority leader say that this legislation is the most shameful thing to be seen on the House floor in this Congress,” Ms. Pelosi said. “I can’t help but wonder, had he forgotten January 6th?”
Mr. Biden applauded the bill’s approval, saying it was proof that Republicans and Democrats can work together, and “I’m looking forward to continued bipartisan progress in the year ahead.”
The Senate passed the defense-heavy measure with significant bipartisan support Thursday, but the vote was much more split in the House. Some 30 GOP lawmakers promised to block any legislative priority that comes from those Republican senators who voted for the bill and leadership urged a no vote.
In the end, nine House Republicans voted for the bill. Seven of them are leaving Congress. Only Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, of Pennsylvania, and Steve Womack, of Arkansas, are returning. The lone Democrat to vote against the measure was Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez, of New York.
The bill runs for 4,155 pages, not including amendments the Senate added. It contains about a 6% increase in spending for domestic initiatives, to $772.5 billion. Spending on defense programs will increase by about 10% to $858 billion.
The bill’s passage came only hours before financing for federal agencies was set to expire. Lawmakers had passed two stopgap spending measures to keep the government operating, and a third, funding the government through Dec. 30, passed Friday and was signed by Mr. Biden. That ensured services continue until Mr. Biden could sign the full-year measure, called an omnibus, into law.
The massive bill wraps together 12 appropriations bills, aid to Ukraine and disaster relief for communities recovering from hurricanes, flooding and wildfires. It also contains scores of policy changes that lawmakers worked to include in the final major bill considered by the current Congress.