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On Wednesday, US senators approved about $14 billion in aid to the war-torn Ukraine as part of a massive plan to pay federal agencies and avoid a domestic government shutdown.
Less than 48 hours before the Friday-Saturday midnight deadline, when federal funding was set to dry up, the House of Representatives approved over $1.5 trillion in spending through September.
Before the budget can become law, the Senate must give its approval to the 2,700-page document.
In a joint statement, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared that “the brave, freedom-loving people of Ukraine and our partners in the area would get vitally needed investments to confront Vladimir Putin and the Russians’ unlawful and immoral assault.”
A four-day “continuing resolution” was also passed by lawmakers in the lower chamber to keep government agencies open until next Tuesday.
This provides the Senate some leeway in case the procedural barriers needed to bring the entire package to President Joe Biden’s desk by Friday night cannot be overcome.
Because Democrats were scheduled to spend the remainder of the week at a retreat in Philadelphia, lawmakers were compelled to stick to a strict schedule.
In response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, which is now in its third week, the agreement includes $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian help for Ukraine and its Eastern European allies.
‘Perilous Times’ is a title that describes a period of time that is both
The financing, which has bipartisan support, was one of the deciding factors in the omnibus package’s passage, despite its contentious nature in other areas.
In a statement, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stated, “This bipartisan government financing agreement is the big step forward that our national security requires.”
“For the United States and its allies, this is a perilous period.”
It allocates $782 billion in defence funding, which is up 5.6 percent from last year and significantly more than Biden’s original $715 billion request.
The proposal includes $730 billion in non-defense funding, representing a 6.7 percent increase over 2021 and the biggest increase in four years.
Democrats on the left had indicated that they would be upset with increases in defence expenditure, but they supported the domestic spending increases and allowed the bill to pass to the Senate.
Progressives, on the other hand, objected to a provision in the omnibus measure that would have provided $15.6 billion to fund the Biden administration’s Covid-19 initiative, forcing it to be removed.
Republicans have refused to support any additional funding for the federal pandemic response, while Democrats have agreed to use funds from existing programmes, including $7 billion set aside for state governments in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
However, rank-and-file Democrats objected to the proposal, forcing leadership to hold a separate vote on Covid financing, which is expected to take place next week.
On Wednesday, lawmakers were scheduled to vote on a new sanctions bill that would prohibit Russia from importing oil and other petroleum goods.
Although Biden has already implemented the oil restriction through executive order, Democratic leaders in Congress want their members to publicly endorse the plan.
In any scenario, the Senate is not likely to follow suit.
