Senate Advances $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Spending Bill

The Senate on Tuesday advanced the $1.7 trillion, 4,155-page omnibus spending bill.

The Senate voted on a motion to proceed on the House message on H.R. 2617, the legislative vehicle for the Consolidated Appropriations Act.

The motion passed 70-25, featuring strong support for the bill, and with many Senate Republicans against it.

The Senate Republicans that voted in favor of the motion to proceed are:

Along with funding the bill, the omnibus includes:

• $45 billion in military and economic aid for Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. This is billions more than the $37 billion Biden requested
• $5 billion in earmarks for 3,200 projects
• $47 billion for the National Institutes of Health
• $1 billion for Peurto Rico’s electrical grid
• $600 million to address water issues in Jackson, Mississippi
• The Senate version of the Electoral Count Reform Act, which would change the process for lawmakers to object to the certification of the presidential election.
• Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) push to have a ban on TikTok on government devices is included in the omnibus
• The omnibus spending bill contains $575 million for “reproductive health” where population growth “threatens biodiversity.”
• The bill also refers to Salmon or “Salmonid” 48 times,

The legislation also contains billions of dollars in earmarks.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has $656 million worth of earmarks in the bill, while Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) has $511 million in earmarks for his state.

Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Rick Scott (R-FL) railed against the bill. Lee accused leadership of “exploiting” members into backing the omnibus by using the spectre of a government shutdown:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that providing aid to Ukraine was the number one priority for Republicans, while America is experiencing an inflation and border crisis.

The Senate will move forward on the bill. McConnell said he hopes to wrap it up by Wednesday. Congress hopes to pass the omnibus by Friday to avoid a government shutdown.