President Joe Biden signed a $1.7 trillion spending bill this week that will keep the federal government in full operation, and allocate necessary funding to various sectors.
This Thursday, President Joe Biden signed a $1.7 Trillion spending bill that will avoid a partial government shutdown; Biden initially had until late Friday to sign the bill to avoid the shutdown.
The bill will keep the federal government operating through the end of the federal budget year in September 2023, according to reports from USA Today. The bill is also meant to provide tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine as it continues its fight against Russia and its military’s invasion.
Right before Christmas, the Democratic-led Senate passed the bill in a vote of 68-29 to pass the bill, and one day later the Democratic-led House Of Representatives also passed the bill in a vote of 225-201. Biden emphasized this bill’s passing as “proof” that collaboration between Democrats and Republicans is possible.
“Today, I signed the bipartisan omnibus bill, ending a year of historic progress. It’ll invest in medical research, safety, veteran health care, disaster recovery, VAWA funding – and gets crucial assistance to Ukraine. Looking forward to more in 2023.”
USA Today also reported that House Republican leader argued against the bill passing during a floor debate, stating that the bill spends too much funding and doesn’t do enough to combat illegal immigration; specifically the smuggling of fentanyl from Mexico into the US.
“This is a monstrosity that is one of the most shameful acts I’ve ever seen in this body,” McCarthy said.
The specifics of the bill include about a 6% increase in spending for various US initiatives; around $772.5 billion. Defense programs will have $858 billion to spend; a 10% increase overall. The bill itself was passed right before financing for federal agencies was set to expire. Biden signed it to guarantee government services would continue to run with the avoidance of any level of a shutdown.
The bill itself is over 4,000 pages long and encompasses 12 spending bills within it. Besides offering aid to Ukraine, the bill also includes disaster relief funding for areas of the nation that are/were impacted by natural disasters.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
