Congress Unveils $1.7T Omnibus Spending Bill

Democratic and Republican negotiators on Tuesday released a $1.7 trillion bill to fund the federal government through most of 2023, and will need to pass it through both chambers by Friday to avert a potential shutdown.

The massive omnibus bill is more than 4,000 pages long and would boost defense funding by $76 billion to $858 billion. Domestic spending in the bill totals $773 billion. The package includes $45 billion in emergency funds for Ukraine and $40 billion in disaster aid for U.S. regions impacted by recent hurricanes, flooding, wildfires and other natural disasters. If passed, government agencies would be funded through Sept. 30, 2023.

Notably absent from the bill are provisions to reinstate the expanded child tax credit that many Democrats wanted and a tax deduction for research and development costs for businesses.

The Senate will take up the bill first with the goal of passing it by Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling on his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to accept the compromise legislation and not get bogged down in what’s not included in the package.

“Nobody wants a shutdown, nobody benefits from a shutdown, so I hope nobody will stand in the way of funding the government ASAP,” Schumer said Tuesday.

Many House Republicans, however, have advocated for a continuing resolution to punt spending decisions to the new year when Republicans will have a narrow majority in the House. This week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is vying to become speaker next year, pledged on Twitter that bills originating in the Senate next year “will be dead on arrival in the House” if the $1.7 trillion omnibus passes.