After significant delay and compromise, Congress has finally set spending levels across government for fiscal 2023.
The House on Friday passed by 225-201 the fiscal 2023 omnibus spending package, finally averting a shutdown through September and setting line-by-line spending levels at every agency in government.
The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk, with the Senate already passing it Thursday afternoon after significant year-end drama over the timing and details of the vote. Because that process can be time consuming for such a large piece of legislation, Congress has also passed another one week stopgap bill—the third of the fiscal year—that will keep agencies afloat through Dec. 30.
The House approved the measure over the objection of nearly all House Republicans, who had hoped to punt on full-year appropriations until January when they will hold a majority. The current slim Democratic majority held strong, providing enough votes to get the funding package over the finish line.
The underlying spending package provides an overall increase to non-defense discretionary spending of about 6% for a total of $773 billion, while Defense spending is set to soar by 10% to $858 billion. While Democrats failed to achieve their goal of equal funding increases on the two sides, the bill will achieve key priorities for both parties. It will also provide supplemental funding of about $45 billion for Ukraine aid and $41 billion for disaster relief.