The House passed a sweeping $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package on Wednesday night to fund the government, hours after lawmakers scrapped billions in funding to combat the COVID-19 pandemic amid resistance from Democrats upset about plans to yank already allocated relief from states, The Hill reported. The last-minute revolt over the COVID-19 funding from Democrats angered over a GOP-demanded offset upended a delicately negotiated package between congressional leaders of both parties. As part of those bipartisan negotiations, the House passage of the omnibus package, which funds the federal government through September, was split in two votes so that lawmakers could register specific support for the defense spending portions. The House first voted 361-69 to back funding for the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security and other national security priorities and then 260-171, with one Democrat voting "present," to adopt the provisions largely related to domestic programs. Congress faces a time crunch to get the legislation to President Biden for his signature since current federal funding expires this Friday. Lawmakers also passed a stopgap measure by voice vote that lasts until Tuesday to ensure that the Senate has enough time to clear the omnibus package without risking a government shutdown. The omnibus package includes about $14 billion in emergency funding to boost humanitarian, security and economic assistance for Ukraine and central European allies in response to the Russian invasion — as lawmakers on both sides of the push for more support to Ukraine.
