CNN –
The Senate voted Thursday to approve a massive $1.7 trillion government spending bill that will fund critical government operations at federal agencies and provide emergency aid for Ukraine and natural disaster relief. The House must then pass the measure as lawmakers race the clock to avoid a shutdown by the end of the week.
The expectation on Capitol Hill is that a shutdown will be avoided, but congressional leaders have little room for error with government funding set to expire at the end of the day Friday. Once the House passes the bill, it will be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. The final vote in the Senate was 68-29.
In order to allow enough time for the year-old bill to be formally processed and sent to Biden sometime next week, the Senate approved a bill on a voice vote Thursday afternoon to extend the deadline for government funding by one week, until December 30.
The House is expected to approve the one-week extension Friday before voting on the yearlong spending bill.
Senators made a major breakthrough in negotiations Thursday morning after the giant government funding bill was stalled for days by a GOP amendment to Trump-era immigration policy, Title 42. that could have scuttled the entire $1.7 trillion legislation in the Democratic-controlled House.
Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah insisted on voting on his amendment to keep in place the immigration policy that allows migrants to be turned away at the border in an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19, which Republicans I strongly support Because Lee’s measure was expected to be set at a simple majority threshold, there was concern that it would pass and be added to the government funding bill as several centrist Democrats support the expansion of politics, only to be later rejected in the House.
To break the impasse, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Jon Tester of Montana wrote an amendment in an attempt to give moderates an alternative way to vote in support of expanding Title 42, which the administration and most democrats want to get rid of it.
Centrist senators like Tester, Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who might have voted for the GOP amendment, can now vote for the competing Democratic measure demonstrating their support for the policy, making it easier to vote politically difficult As expected, both amendments were not approved. Lee’s amendment to expand Trump-era immigration policy failed 47-50. Sinema-Tester’s Democratic alternative was down 10-87.
Senate leaders introduced the one-year, $1.7 trillion funding bill early Tuesday morning, the result of lengthy negotiations between top Democrats and Republicans in Congress. The Senate had hoped to first vote to approve the deal this week and then send it to the House for approval before government funding runs out on Dec. 23.
The massive spending bill for fiscal year 2023, known on Capitol Hill as the omnibus, provides $772.5 billion for non-defense domestic programs and $858 billion in defense funding. It includes approximately $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies and approximately $40 billion to respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires and floods.
Other key provisions of the bill include an overhaul of the Election Counting Act of 1887 aimed at making it more difficult to overturn a certified presidential election — the first legislative response to the U.S. Capitol insurrection and campaign relentless push by then-President Donald Trump to stay in power despite his 2020 loss. The spending bill also includes the Secure Act 2.0, a package aimed at making it easier to save for retirement, and a measure to ban TikTok from government devices.
The legislative text of the package, which is more than 4,000 pages long, was released in the middle of the night, around 1:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, leaving little time for rank-and-file lawmakers and the public to review it. its content before Congress plans to vote to approve it.
In a divisive political environment where bipartisan action often doesn’t happen without immense time pressure, it has become the norm in recent years on Capitol Hill to release massive funding bills at the eleventh hour and then proceed to introduce – them in both chambers. That has drawn criticism from some lawmakers who say the process is rushed and secretive and doesn’t operate as transparently as it should.
This story and headline have been updated with additional updates.