House passes $1.7 trillion spending bill with Ukraine aid

By KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A $1.7 trillion bill to fund federal agencies through September and provide more aid to a devastated Ukraine passed the House Friday as lawmakers race to finish their work for the year and avoid a partial government shutdown.

The bill passed largely along party lines, 225-201. It now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed.

The passage of the bill marked a final act for Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s second stint as speaker of the House, and for the Democratic majority, led her back to power in the 2018 election. Republicans will take control of the House next year, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy is campaigning to replace her.

He enlists the support of staunch conservatives in his caucus, who have largely rejected the bill’s size and many of the priorities it sets out. He spoke with his voice raised for about 25 minutes as he attacked the bill for spending too much and doing too little to curb illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl across the US-Mexico border.

“This is a monstrosity that is one of the most shameful acts I have ever seen in this body,” McCarthy said of the legislation.

The speech prompted a quick joke from Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who said “after listening to it, it’s clear he doesn’t have the votes yet,” a reference to McCarthy’s campaign to become speaker.

Pelosi said, “we have a big bill here because we had great needs for the country,” then turned her attention to McCarthy:

“It was sad to hear the Minority Leader say that this legislation is the most shameful thing to see on the House floor in this Congress,” Pelosi said. “I can’t help but wonder, did he forget January 6?”

The Senate passed the defense-heavy measure Thursday with significant bipartisan support, but the vote was much more divided in the House. About 30 GOP lawmakers vowed to block any legislative priority coming from the Republican senators who voted in favor of the bill and leaders pushed for a no vote.

The bill runs to 4,155 pages, not counting amendments added by the Senate. It includes about 6% percent more spending on domestic initiatives, to $772.5 billion. Spending on defense programs will increase about 10% to $858 billion.

The bill’s approval came just hours before funding for federal agencies ends. Lawmakers passed two temporary spending measures to keep the government running for this fiscal year so far and a third was also due to pass Friday to ensure services continue until Biden could sign the full-year measure, called an omnibus, into law .

The huge bill includes 12 credit bills, aid to Ukraine and disaster relief for communities recovering from hurricanes, floods and wildfires. It also includes numerous policy changes that legislators have tried to incorporate into the last major bill under consideration by the current Congress.

Lawmakers provided about $45 billion to Ukraine and NATO allies, more than even Biden requested, an admission that future funding rounds are not guaranteed with a new GOP-led house.

In a dramatic speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told lawmakers that the aid was not charity, but an investment in global security and democracy.

While aid to Ukraine was largely bipartisan, some House Republicans were critical of the effort, arguing that the money would be better spent on US priorities.

“How can we send an additional $47 billion to Ukraine for security as terrorists, drugs and criminals flood our southern border?” tweeted Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.

“$100 billion to Ukraine. Let’s put that in perspective,” tweeted Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who included previous rounds of aid in his tally. That’s over $200 million this year from every congressional district. What could your congressman have done for your district with $200 million?

McCarthy has warned that Republicans will not write a “blank check” for Ukraine in the next Congress. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after Thursday’s vote that he is struggling to understand the concerns.

“I’m just confused by some of these right-wing Republicans who don’t want to help Ukraine,” Schumer said. “It’s always been like this: the harder you were on the right, the more anti-Soviet you were, but suddenly they’re pro. I hope it’s not a leftover from Trump.”

The Senate approved the funding package by a vote of 68 to 29 on Thursday, but it will take time for the Senate Clerk’s Office to review the bill and incorporate amendments added that day. As a result, the bill ended up with a half-empty House. More than 220 lawmakers sought the opportunity to vote by proxy, with many rushing to get out of town before risking canceled flights and spending Christmas in Washington.

Republicans have vowed that doing away with the practice of remote voting will be one of their first acts in the majority next year.

The funding bill also includes about $40 billion in emergency spending in the US, primarily to help communities across the country recover from droughts, hurricanes and other natural disasters.

And it has plenty of policy changes largely unrelated to spending that legislators have been furiously working behind the scenes to include, lest they start all over again next year in a divided Congress where Republicans will return to majority in the House .

One of the most notable examples was a landmark revision of federal election law that aims to prevent future presidents or presidential candidates from attempting to overturn an election.

The bipartisan revision of the Electoral Count Act is in direct response to efforts by former President Donald Trump to persuade Republican lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence to object to the certification of Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021.

Among the spending increases, Democrats highlighted: a $500 increase in the maximum size of Pell grants for low-income students, a $100 million increase in block grants to states for substance abuse prevention and treatment programs, a 22% increase in spending on VA medical care and $3.7 billion to provide emergency relief to farmers and ranchers affected by natural disasters, just to name a few.

The bill also provides about $15.3 billion for more than 7,200 projects lawmakers sought for their home states and districts. Under revamped community project funding rules, known as earmarking, lawmakers must post their requests online and declare that they have no financial interest in the projects. Yet many fiscal conservatives criticize the earmarking as leading to unnecessary spending.