Breaking News

These are the 20 best travel destinations for summer 2024, according to Google Flight Searches 3 Google Maps updates to make summer travel easier SPACECENT is up the new war zone > United States Space Force > Article Display Tuberculosis — United States, 2023 | MMWR Thousands of US bridges are vulnerable to collapse from a single hit: NTSB Why don’t the Blazers or ROOT Sports offer standalone streaming? Up to 200,000 people estimated to travel to Vermont for total solar eclipse How fast will April’s total solar eclipse travel? The UN Security Council demands a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan Mexico in the emerging world order

WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) – The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.66 trillion government funding bill, providing record military funding and emergency aid to Ukraine, an hour before midnight on Friday.

The spending bill for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 was approved by a largely party-line vote of 225-201 after the Senate passed the day before.

President Joe Biden said he would sign the hard-fought law, which also includes more aid for students with disabilities, additional funding to protect workers’ rights and more resources for job training, as well as more affordable housing for families, veterans and runaways. domestic violence.

“The bipartisan funding bill advances our nation’s top priorities and caps a year of historic bipartisan success for the American people,” Biden said.

The vote, for all practical purposes, marked the end of the 117th Congress, which brought Biden big wins over the past two years. These included a massive stimulus bill for COVID-19 aid, the first major infrastructure investment measure in years and a bill that would invest billions of dollars in fighting climate change. A modest gun control bill was also introduced.

While some of the work was bipartisan, that was not the case with Friday’s $1.66 trillion funding bill, which was opposed by House Republican conservatives and some Senate conservatives. The gridlock in Congress is likely to worsen next year when Republicans take a slim majority in the House.

The more than 4,000-page bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 68-29, with 18 of the 50 Republicans supporting it, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Only nine of the 213 House Republicans supported it.

Their leader, Kevin McCarthy, vehemently opposed the bill, calling it one of the most shameful acts he has seen in Congress. McCarthy was present when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to hang Trump’s vice president.

McCarthy, who is seeking to become the next speaker of the House, has been trying to win the support of his most conservative Republican members.

Far-right Republicans wanted deep domestic spending cuts, which this “omnibus” spending bill won’t achieve. They have threatened to oppose any legislation introduced by any of the Senate Republicans who supported the bill.

Many House Republicans had wanted to delay negotiations on the bill until they had a majority early next year. But its passage will take a heavy burden off Republican leaders who will take control of the chamber on Jan. 3.

This will allow McCarthy to focus on her bid for the powerful position of House Speaker.

[1/4] The U.S. Capitol is seen as Congress continues to work to pass a $1.66 trillion government funding bill in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

While most of his candidates support him, a vocal minority of conservative Republicans have voiced opposition, which is a concern because he needs a majority of the 435-member House to back him.

Democrats are likely to prop up their newly elected leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, to be mostly symbolic.

PARTISAN RANCOR

“All of you are trashing the railroads on this $1.7 trillion bill without considering what it’s costing the American people,” Rep. To see also : Aaron Rodgers talks gratitude, coming to terms with the Packers and his state of mind. Tim Burchett, a Republican, said in a speech.

Like many Republicans, Burchett attacked the emergency aid package to help Ukraine in its battle against invading Russian forces.

“Over $45 billion for Ukraine if Europe were to bear the brunt of those costs,” Burchett said.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat, shot back: “This sweeping package is anything but garbage,” adding, “It’s really the essence of supporting our national security, our homeland security, and the well-being of our people.”

The legislation would give the Defense Department a record $858 billion, up from $740 billion last year.

National security concerns prompted lawmakers to add a provision to ban the use of the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on federal government devices.

About $800 billion would be earmarked for non-military programs, up $68 billion from the 2022 budget.

Ukraine would receive $44.9 billion worth of new US emergency aid. Congressional debate on the bill was interrupted Wednesday by a visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who thanked the Americans for stepping up his country’s military efforts against Russia and argued that US money was a good “investment.”

Other major spending items include more than $27 billion for victims of natural disasters, a significant increase in funding for drug addiction fighters and help with major infrastructure projects due to a bill passed in 2021.

Reporting by Richard Cowan, Moira Warburton and Gram Slattery; Edited by Scott Malone, Lisa Shumaker and Alistair Bell

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Washington-based correspondent covering campaigns and Congress. Previously posted in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Santiago, Chile and has covered extensively throughout Latin America. Co-winner of the 2021 Reuters Journalism of the Year Award in the business reporting category for a series on corruption and fraud in the oil industry. He was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College.

This may interest you :
WASHINGTON — Sgt. maj. Michael A. Grinston announced the winners of the…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *