U.S. Congress passes $1.66 trillion funding bill; sending to Biden - Reuters

WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives connected Friday passed a $1.66 trillion authorities backing bill that provides grounds subject backing and sends exigency assistance to Ukraine, hours earlier a midnight deadline.

The spending measure for the fiscal twelvemonth ending Sept. 30 was approved connected a mostly party-line ballot of 225-201, pursuing Senate transition the erstwhile day.

The hard-fought authorities present goes to President Joe Biden for signing into law.

Without enactment by Congress, national agencies passim the authorities would person had to begun furloughing workers and shuttering non-essential services opening astatine midnight Friday.

The ballot marked the close, for each applicable purposes, of the 117th Congress, which delivered large victories to Biden implicit the past 2 years. These included a monolithic COVID-19 assistance stimulus bill, the archetypal large infrastructure concern measurement successful years and a measure investing billions of dollars to conflict clime change.

While immoderate of the enactment was done successful a bipartisan manner, that was not the lawsuit with the $1.66 trillion bill, opposed by House Republican conservatives and immoderate Senate conservatives.

Conservative House Republicans went connected the onslaught astatine the commencement of House debate, criticizing the wide outgo of the measure which they said was riddled with wasteful spending that has stoked ostentation successful the United States.

The bill, of implicit 4,000 pages, was passed connected Thursday successful the Senate connected a bipartisan ballot of 68-29, with the enactment of 18 Senate Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy called the appropriations measure a "monstrosity" and "one of the astir shameful acts" helium has seen successful Congress. McCarthy was contiguous erstwhile a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to bent Trump's vice president.

McCarthy, who is seeking to go the adjacent talker of the House, has been struggling to enactment up enactment from his astir blimpish Republican members, who contend that helium has not yet nailed down capable enactment to triumph that predetermination connected the archetypal ballot connected Jan. 3.

Far-right Republicans privation heavy home spending cuts that this "omnibus" spending measure does not accomplish.

After weeks of haggling and threats of authorities shutdowns, Congress completed 1 of its astir basal duties: appropriating wealth to support the bureaucracy humming, 3 months aft a caller fiscal twelvemonth began connected Oct. 1.

National information concerns prompted legislators to see a proviso to prohibition the usage of Chinese-owned societal media app TikTok connected national authorities devices.

While galore House Republicans said they preferred to simply legislate different impermanent backing measure extending into aboriginal adjacent year, the monolithic full-year measurement takes a dense load disconnected of Republican leaders who volition instrumentality power of the enclosure connected Jan. 3 arsenic a effect of November's midterm elections.

That volition let House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy to debar a fierce combat astatine the commencement of the caller twelvemonth and absorption connected his tally for the almighty presumption of House speaker.

While the bulk of his caucus supports him, a vocal number of blimpish Republicans person voiced absorption to his candidacy, a interest since helium needs a bulk of the 435-member House to enactment him.

Democrats are apt to enactment their recently selected leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, to beryllium talker successful a mostly symbolic effort.

PARTISAN RANCOR

Emotions were earthy among House members inactive successful Washington.

"You each are railroading this $1.7 trillion measure afloat of garbage without immoderate respect for what it's costing Americans," Republican Representative Tim Burchett said successful a speech.

Like respective Republicans, Burchett besides attacked the attached exigency assistance for helping Ukraine successful its conflict against invading Russian forces.

"Over $45 cardinal for Ukraine erstwhile Europe should beryllium carrying the load of these costs," Burchett said.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat, changeable back: "This sweeping bundle is thing but garbage," adding, "it is successful information the essence of supporting our nationalist security, our home information and the payment of our people."

The authorities would supply the Defense Department with a grounds $858 billion, up from $740 cardinal past year.

Around $800 cardinal would beryllium designated for the array of non-military programs, $68 cardinal implicit fiscal 2022.

Ukraine would get $44.9 cardinal successful caller exigency U.S. aid. The statement successful Congress implicit the measure was punctuated by a sojourn connected Wednesday by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who thanked Americans for bolstering his country's warfare effort against Russia and argued the U.S. funds were a bully "investment."

Other large spending items successful the measure see implicit $27 cardinal for the victims of earthy disasters, a large summation successful backing for those struggling with cause addiction and backing to assistance transportation large infrastructure projects made imaginable by a measure enacted successful 2021.

Reporting by Richard Cowan, Moira Warburton and Gram Slattery; Editing by Scott Malone, Lisa Shumaker and Alistair Bell

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