(PatriotWise.com) – Last Friday, the House of Representatives voted to finalize the massive $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package that the Senate passed on Thursday.
The 4,150-page spending package to fund the government through September 30, 2023, also includes an additional $44.9 billion in aid to Ukraine as well as over 7,200 earmarks totaling over $15 billion.
The Senate approved the measure Thursday by a 68 to 29 vote after the legislation was nearly derailed over a Republican effort to include a border security provision keeping Title 42 in place. The provision failed.
In the House, nine Republicans joined the Democrats in voting to finalize the spending bill, including seven outgoing Republicans Liz Cheney, John Katko, Chris Jacobs, Adam Kinzinger, Rodney Davis, Jamie Herrera Beutler, and Fred Upton.
Republican Congressmen Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Steve Womack of Arkansas also supported the measure.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the only Democrat to vote against the bill while her fellow Squad member Rashida Tlaib voted “present” … by proxy.
After the bill passed, President Biden claimed that spending $1.7 trillion will be “good for our economy.” He vowed to sign it into law “as soon as it reaches my desk.”
In the meantime, President Biden signed a short-term spending package that will keep the government open until December 30 to give the White House breathing room as the president prepares to sign the $1.7 trillion monster bill this week.
The spending package was negotiated by Democrat leadership and top Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
However, the House Republican leadership was critical of the massive spending package.
Republican leader Kevin McCarthy called both the spending bill and the process used to craft it “one of the most shameful acts I’ve ever seen.” McCarthy said it was “a slap in the face to every American” that voted to elect a Republican majority in the midterms.
Outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi defended the $1.7 trillion price tag, claiming the bill was big “because we have big needs for our country.”
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