WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval Friday to a short-term spending package to keep government open through mid-December and President Biden signed it shortly after, avoiding a midnight shutdown and sending approximately $12.3 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine.
The House passed the measure less than 12 hours before the funding expired. It will keep government open until Dec. 16, giving lawmakers time to iron out their considerable differences over the dozen or so annual spending bills.
The package included a third tranche of aid to Ukraine for its battle with Russia, in addition to a total of around $54 billion approved earlier this year. With Friday’s vote, Congress has now committed more military aid to Ukraine than to any country in a single year since the Vietnam War, reflecting a remarkable bipartisan consensus in favor of the investment of enormous amounts of American resources in the struggle as a nation. seeks to reclaim more of its territory from Russia.
Still, most House Republicans opposed the measure, which passed a largely partisan vote of 230 to 201. Ten Republicans joined every current Democrat in voting for the legislation.
Passage of the bill met the final legislative deadline that Congress faced before November’s midterm elections. Lawmakers, eager to resume the campaign trail, have pledged to resolve outstanding disputes in annual legislation as part of an increasingly hectic to-do list for the return of the House and Senate in November.
“The investments included in this bill are urgent and necessary to avoid disrupting vital federal agencies, to help communities get back on their feet, to ensure we have the time needed to negotiate a final funding agreement that meets to the needs of hard-working people,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut, chair of the appropriations committee.
Republican leaders, however, advised their conference to oppose the package. Although several Senate Republicans supported the package when it passed this chamber on Thursday, House Republicans argued that it did little to address their priorities, including providing a substantial increase of the army and reinforcing the resources on the southern border.
Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, the Republican lead on the Appropriations Committee, chastised Democrats for a bill she said was “rushed through the House today, with only hours to spare to avoid a shutdown of the government”.
“It is deeply regrettable that we have yet again waited until the last minute to fund the government,” said Rep. Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma. Mr Cole, a longtime member of the Appropriations Committee, added: ‘We shouldn’t be in this situation – both sides have, I’ll grant my friend – but it’s a particularly egregious process .”
But the desire to avoid a government shutdown and help Ukraine was enough to rally the support needed to pass the measure. It will allocate $1.5 billion to replenish weapons and equipment previously sent to the country, while allowing Mr Biden to authorize the transfer of up to $3.7 billion in US equipment and weapons .
It will also provide $3 billion for equipment, weapons and military support, as well as $4.5 billion to keep the Ukrainian government functioning throughout the war.
“This package comes at a critical time,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, highlighting Ukraine’s recent success in reclaiming land that had been seized by Russia and the pledges of support she and the Biden administration had taken. “With this supplement, we are taking another important step towards fulfilling that commitment, our country’s commitment.”
Lawmakers agreed to meet some national needs, including $20 million to support recovery from the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, and $2 billion for a community block grant program designed to help relief efforts after natural disasters in 2021 and 2022.
It also secures the renewal of a five-year “user fee” agreement that the Food and Drug Administration relies on as part of its budget and sets aside $1 billion for a program that will help low-income families. income to pay heating and energy costs in the coming month.
The legislation also gives the federal government more flexibility to spend existing disaster relief funds in the coming weeks, though lawmakers acknowledged it was likely a separate round of emergency aid would be needed in the coming weeks to deal with the devastation left by hurricanes in Southwest Florida and Puerto Rico.
“This short-term funding bill will keep government open and address a range of critical needs – helping communities recover from extreme weather events, supporting Ukraine, helping deliver on our promises and commitments to Afghan allies and partners, and more,” said Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget. She added, “We look forward to working with Congress to get this done for the American people.”
However, to ensure there would be enough Republican support for the measure to pass the Senate, Democrats agreed to withdraw billions of dollars in emergency funds to help fight the coronavirus pandemic and the spread of monkeypox across the country. Republicans have declined to consider spending additional emergency funds on top of aid previously approved by Congress that has yet to be used.
Democrats also scrapped an energy infrastructure plan that was originally included at the request of Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a conservative Democrat, as part of a deal that won his vote last month for the main climate, health and fiscal package of the party. Dozens of House Democrats had called for the energy plan to be scrapped and considered separately, and senior lawmakers said they would revisit it once Congress returns in mid-November.