Senate passes $1.7 trillion government funding bill, teeing up House vote

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), holds a news conference to discuss the expanded Democratic majority in the Senate for the next Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 7, 2022. 

The House is expected to pass the bill in time to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday.

In the end, the final vote was 68 in favor and 29 against.

A summary of the bill was released earlier this week by the Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman. The figures show a 5% increase in non-defense spending.

Military, humanitarian and economic aid for Ukraine is contained in the legislation. Additional aid for NATO allies is included in the total.

One day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave an historic speech to a joint meeting of Congress, the Senate voted to confirm him. He urged lawmakers to keep funding his country's "war of independence" against invading Russian forces.

The measure provides 40 billion dollars in new funding for states and tribal reservations to help communities recover from natural disasters.

Donald Trump and his allies tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election by using the federal Electoral Count Act.

The role of the vice president in certifying electoral counts would be ceremonial with no power to reject the results of an election that was certified by states.

The electoral votes for President Joe Biden were not certified by the Vice President in 2020. The Capitol was attacked by pro- Trump rioters on January 6, 2021.

The Senate voted in favor of funding the government. Many people viewed the legislation as must-pass.

McConnell told his caucus to support the bill. It was perfect but strong, he said.

McConnell said on the Senate floor that the appropriations process would have been different if Senate Republicans were in charge.

He said that the senators have two options this week, either giving the armed forces the resources they need or denying them.

Biden has racked up a number of legislative victories in the past year on bills that received both Republican and Democratic support. The CHIPS and Science Act, the Respect for Marriage Act, and the infrastructure bill were some of the most significant.

Government funding levels will be set in stone if the federal spending package is passed now. It is possible that the bill will be punted into the new year if either the Senate or House fails to advance it.