US Congress passes $1.6 trillion funding bill, Biden will sign it into law

The Democratic-majority US House of Representatives approved a $1.66 trillion government funding bill on Friday.

The lower house approved the bill by a vote of 225 to 201, one day after it received the green light from the Senate. It has now passed to President Joe Biden to sign before midnight Friday (0500 GMT Saturday), when the temporary funds expire.

Conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives showed their discontent at the beginning of the debate, criticizing the overall cost of the bill, which they say is plagued by wasteful spending that has fueled inflation in the United States.

The more than 4,000-page bill passed the Senate on Thursday in a bipartisan 68-29 vote, with the support of 18 Republican senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

McCarthy, the House minority leader, called the bill an “monstrosity” and “one of the most shameful acts” he has seen in Congress. Far-right Republicans want deep cuts in domestic spending that this bill does not achieve.

After weeks of bargaining and threats of a government shutdown, Congress fulfilled one of its most basic duties: allocating money to keep the bureaucracy running, three months after the new fiscal year began on October 1.

Its inability to pass a funding bill on time, which is becoming the norm, has forced the government to operate with temporary carryovers from last year’s funding levels, which Democrats and Republicans say poses a threat to national security.

The legislation will provide the Defense Department with a record $858 billion, up from $740 billion last year. About $800 billion will go to a number of non-military programs, $68 billion more than in fiscal 2022.

Ukraine will receive $44.9 billion in new emergency aid. Congressional debate over the bill was punctuated by a visit on Wednesday by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenskyy, who thanked the Americans for stepping up the war effort against Russia and argued that the funds were a good “investment.”

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