Senate passes $1.7 trillion government funding bill - Axios

The Senate passed the astir $1.7 trillion long-term, authorities backing bill 68-29 connected Thursday, sending the measurement to the House for speedy transition earlier a looming deadline.

Why it matters: The authorities volition money the authorities done adjacent September — preventing the caller Congress from being thrust into yet different spending combat erstwhile Republicans instrumentality power of the House successful January.

• With its passage, lawmakers volition present beryllium capable to question location successful clip for the holidays.

The large picture: The occurrence of Senate enactment successful ushering successful this monolithic omnibus authorities is the last legislative triumph for the 117th Congress, which has officially closed the section connected 2 years of navigating a narrowly divided chamber.

• The process of getting to last transition was an arduous one, and Congress came adjacent to being forced to footwear spending negotiations into the caller twelvemonth — thing Democrats and Republicans alike wanted to avoid.

Key provisions:

• Roughly $45 billion in assistance to Ukraine's war effort and NATO allies.
• A bipartisan woody to extremity a COVID-era Medicaid argumentation on April 1, 2023, phasing retired the requirements that prevented states from dropping individuals from federally funded insurance.
• Passage of the Electoral Count Act, which clarifies the vice president's relation successful certifying Electoral College votes successful a statesmanlike election. The bipartisan measure was drafted successful an effort to assistance forestall different Jan. 6-style onslaught connected democracy.
• More than $38 cardinal successful exigency catastrophe assistance for Americans successful the West and Southeast affected by caller earthy disasters — including hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and wildfires.
• $2.6 cardinal successful backing for Jan. 6 ineligible efforts, including assistance "to further enactment prosecutions related to the January 6 onslaught connected the Capitol and home coercion cases." It besides includes $11.3 cardinal for the FBI's efforts to curb extremist unit and home terrorism.
• Tax provisions aimed astatine preventing fraudulent taxation breaks arising from onshore conservation deals and authorities to boost status savings successful tax-advantaged accounts. The additions of some provisions travel uncertainty implicit whether determination would beryllium immoderate taxation rubric successful the authorities backing measure astatine all.
• A 4.6% wage rise for subject troops and a 22.4% summation successful enactment for Veteran Administration aesculapian care. It besides includes astir $55.7 cardinal to combat ostentation and enactment captious services and lodging assistance for veterans and their families, arsenic good arsenic $5 cardinal for the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund.
• Banning TikTok connected national devices.
• Directs U.S. Capitol Police to see extending security for erstwhile House speakers for a twelvemonth aft they permission office. It besides provides $2.5 cardinal for a “residential information strategy program” for senators.

• An further $25 cardinal for the National Labor Relations Board's fund — a apical precedence for unions that brings their backing to much than $299 million.
• More backing for children's intelligence wellness and for substance abuse, as good arsenic further funds to people the opioid epidemic.
• $576 cardinal for the Environmental Protection Agency, bringing its backing up to $10.1 billion, and it boosts the National Park Service's backing by 6.4% to assistance the bureau with an summation successful visitation.
• $8 cardinal for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, a 30% summation successful funding. The assistance offers fiscal assistance to low-income families to spend kid care.

What was excluded:

• Energy permitting reforms, a cardinal precedence for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
• An hold of the enhanced Child Tax Credit.
• $9 cardinal to combat the COVID pandemic.
• The SAFE Banking Act, which would've granted the cannabis manufacture accrued entree to fiscal services.
• A bipartisan statement connected cause sentencing that would've tightened the sentencing disparities betwixt ace and pulverization cocaine.

What's next: The measure is present disconnected to the House, wherever members are expected to ballot connected last transition Friday.

Editor's note: This communicative has been updated with further developments.