The House passed a $1.5 trillion federal spending package March 9 after pulling COVID-19 funding from the bill earlier that day, according to The New York Times.
Five things to know:
1. The package, introduced right after midnight March 9, extends funding through the end of the fiscal year.
2. Democratic leaders pulled $15.6 billion in emergency COVID-19 funding from the funding package after facing opposition within their own party, The Hill reported March 9. Democrats had initially suggested leaning on borrowed money for the new COVID-19 relief funds, adding to the budget deficit. Republicans opposed that idea, and Democratic negotiators proposed to offset the $15.6 billion with COVID-19 funding sent to states last year that had not yet been spent. Lawmakers from states facing the clawback threatened not to pass the omnibus unless the clawback was removed.
3. Earlier this month, the White House requested from Congress $22.5 billion in supplemental COVID-19 relief funds. It's unclear when the House will again attempt to act on the administration's request.
4. The House-passed spending measure instead includes more than double what the Biden administration requested in emergency aid for Ukraine, sending about $6.5 billion to the Defense Department for military assistance and about $6.7 billion to help both refugees and those who remain in the country. The bill also includes reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and affirmation that federal regulatory jurisdiction extends to vaping and synthetic tobacco.
5. If passed by the Senate, the funding would increase federal spending, with totals of $730 billion for domestic programs and $782 billion for the military.