The massive $1.7 trillion government budget package was approved by the House on Friday, ending 2 years of Democratic control of both chambers of Congress and delivering it to President Joe Biden.
The plan includes a significant increase in military spending and close to $45 billion in support for Ukraine. To avoid another Jan. 6, it updates federal election law by updating the Electoral Count Act of 1887. The deal avoids a government shutdown and keeps the government financed through next fall by funding a large number of domestic programs as well.
The vote, which closely followed party lines, was 225 to 201. 9 Republicans, including retiring Reps, voted in favor of the proposal. Wyoming’s Liz Cheney, New York’s John Katko and Chris Jacobs, Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger and Rodney Davis, Washington’s Jaime Herrera Beutler, and Michigan’s Fred Upton are some of the other notable representatives.
Republicans Steve Womack of Arkansas, an executive appropriator, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, voted in favor of the bill. At the same time, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York failed to vote.
Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated on the floor, “We have a large bill here because we have immense requirements for our country. “Around the same time, we focus on the issues of America’s working households, with a special priority on our children – please put a penny in the old man’s hat.”
On Thursday, the Senate voted 68-29 to pass the bill.
