UNITED STATES NEWS

Senate passes $1.7 trillion bill to fund gov’t, aid Ukraine

Dec 22, 2022, 2:00 PM | Updated: Dec 23, 2022, 12:13 pm
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill Thursday that finances federal agencies through September and provides another significant round of military and economic aid to Ukraine one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dramatic address to a joint meeting of Congress.

The bill, which runs for 4,155 pages, includes about $772.5 billion for domestic programs and $858 billion for defense and would finance federal agencies through the fiscal year at the end of September.

The bill passed by a vote of 68-29 and now goes to the House for a final vote before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

“This is one of the most significant appropriations packages we have done in a very long time,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “The range of people it helps is large and deep.”

Lawmakers were racing to get the bill approved before a partial government shutdown would occur at midnight Friday, and many were anxious to complete the task before a deep freeze and wintry conditions left them stranded in Washington for the holidays. Many also want to lock in government funding before a new GOP-controlled House next year could make it harder to find compromise on spending.

Senators heard from Zelenskyy about the importance of U.S. aid to his country for its war with Russia on Wednesday night. The measure provides about $45 billion in military, economic and humanitarian assistance for the devastated nation and NATO allies, more than Biden even requested, raising total assistance so far to more than $100 billion.

“Your money is not charity,” Zelenskyy told lawmakers and Americans watching from home. “It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”

Lawmakers were in disagreement over which amendments were to be voted upon to lock in a final vote on an expedited basis. The impasses had the potential to prevent passage of the bill before the midnight Friday deadline. But negotiations overnight led to a breakthrough and senators gathered early Thursday morning to work through more than a dozen amendments before getting to a final vote.

The House won’t be able to take up the bill until Friday morning, and while it is expected to pass, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the chamber will also approve a stopgap spending resolution to ensure government services continue without interruption before the bill is signed into law.

The spending bill was supported by Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, though for different reasons.

McConnell cited the bill’s nearly 10% boost in defense spending, which he says will give America’s Armed Forces the funding and certainty needed to ensure the country’s security.

“The world’s greatest military will get the funding increase that it needs, outpacing inflation,” McConnell said. “Meanwhile, non-defense, non-veterans spending will come in below the rate of inflation, for a real-dollar cut.”

McConnell faced pushback from many Republicans who don’t support the spending bill and resent being forced to vote on such a massive package with so little time before a potential shutdown and the Christmas holiday.

“There has not been enough time for a single person to have read this entire bill. The bill and process ignores soaring inflation, rising interest rates and our ballooning debt of $31 trillion,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “Enough is enough.”

Eighteen Republican senators joined with Democrats in voting for the bill.

For two senators, the bill puts the finishing touches on their work in Washington. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is retiring after serving some 48 years in the Senate and as the current chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He negotiated the bill for months with Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the committee’s ranking Republican, who was elected to the Senate in 1986 and is also retiring.

“What a capstone to a brilliant career,” Schumer said.

The bill also contains roughly $40 billion in emergency spending in the U.S., mostly to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters.

And, of course, it includes scores of policy changes unrelated to spending that lawmakers sought to include in what is going to be the last major bill of the Congress, else they start from scratch next year in a divided Congress where Republicans will be returning to the majority in the House.

One of the most notable examples was a historic revision to federal election law that aims to prevent any future presidents or presidential candidates from trying to overturn an election. The bipartisan overhaul of the Electoral Count Act is in direct response to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to convince Republican lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence to object to the certification of Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, 2021.

The bill also allowed Congress to follow through on some of the most consequential bills it had passed over the past two years, such as a measure aiming to boost computer chip production in the U.S. and another to expand health care services to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. Some $5 billion was provided help the VA implement some of the changes called for in the PACT Act, and the amount of money provided specifically for VA health care soared 22% to nearly $119 billion.

“These benefits are deserved,” Leahy said. “They were earned, and they are owed.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, after the passing of the omnibus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
            
              The Senate side of the Capitol is seen in Washington, early Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, as lawmakers rush to complete passage of a bill to fund the government before a midnight Friday deadline, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
            
              Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is greeted by a U.S. Capitol Police officer as lawmakers rush to complete passage of a spending bill to fund the government before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Portman is retiring from the Senate at the end of the term. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
            
              Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., arrives as lawmakers rush to complete passage of a spending bill to fund the government before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
            
              Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., left, is greeted by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as lawmakers arrive to complete passage of a spending bill to fund the government before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
            
              Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, left, and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., arrive as lawmakers rush to complete passage of a spending bill to fund the government before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., walks to the chamber after speaking with Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., right, as lawmakers rush to complete passage of a $1.7 trillion bill to fund the government before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
            
              Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the top Republican, shows off his red University of Louisville sweater as he exits the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, early Thursday morning, Dec. 22, 2022. Lawmakers are rushing to complete passage of a spending bill to fund the government before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
            
              Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, speaks with Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the House Appropriations Committee chair, the top Democrats in charge of the budget negotiations, as they await Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. Lawmakers are rushing to complete passage of a spending bill to fund the government before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

United States News

Associated Press

Get it while it’s hot: New Mexico boosts chile production

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico produced more than 53,000 tons of its most famous crop during the last growing season, meaning more chile peppers found their way into salsas and onto dinner plates than the previous year. State and federal agriculture officials rolled out the latest numbers this week as New Mexico’s governor signed […]
15 hours ago
A BNSF train carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire in Raymond, Minn., Thursday, ...
Associated Press

Fiery derailments renew Americans’ focus on railroad safety

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Americans are renewing their focus on railroad safety after a string of recent derailments, especially two fiery ones involving hazardous chemicals in Minnesota that prompted evacuations. do more to prevent derailments. They want standards for the trackside detectors used to help identify equipment problems, more notice to states about hazardous chemicals […]
15 hours ago
This undated handout photo shows Evelyn Dieckhaus a student at The Covenant School in Nashville, Te...
Associated Press

Mourners gather for 1st Nashville school shooting funeral

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Family and friends of Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of three children who were killed in a school shooting in Nashville this week, remembered her Friday as a “shining light” and said farewell to a girl who loved art, music, animals and snuggling with her older sister on the couch. The funeral at […]
15 hours ago
FILE - This photo provided by the Montgomery County Police Dept. shows Sophia Negroponte. Negropont...
Associated Press

Fomer US intel director’s daughter gets 35 years for murder

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — The daughter of former U.S. intelligence director John Negroponte was sentenced Friday to 35 years in prison in the fatal stabbing of a friend after a drunken argument at a Maryland home, prosecutors announced. Sophia Negroponte, 30, of Washington, D.C., was convicted in January of second-degree murder in the 2020 death […]
15 hours ago
Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison after conviction in double murder trial during his senten...
Associated Press

Alex Murdugh to be kept in protective custody in prison

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina prison officials have decided to keep former attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh in a special protective unit as he begins serving his life sentence for killing his wife and son. Mental health and prison experts determined that Murdaugh should be kept in protective custody after they reviewed his […]
15 hours ago
FILE - Elon Musk departs the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House in San F...
Associated Press

Court: 2018 Musk tweet unlawfully threatened UAW efforts

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 2018 Twitter post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk unlawfully threatened Tesla employees with the loss of stock options if they decided to be represented by a union, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a March […]
15 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...
Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.
(Pexels Photo)...

Sports gambling can be fun for adults, but it’s a dangerous game for children

While adults may find that sports gambling is a way to enhance the experience with more than just fandom on the line, it can be a dangerous proposition if children get involved in the activity.
(Photo via MLB's Arizona Fall League / Twitter)...
Arizona Fall League

Top prospects to watch at this year’s Arizona Fall League

One of the most exciting elements of the MLB offseason is the Arizona Fall League, which began its 30th season Monday.
Senate passes $1.7 trillion bill to fund gov’t, aid Ukraine