House Passes $1.7 Trillion Government Funding Bill
By Jason Hall
December 23, 2022
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.7 trillion government funding bill, which will now be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed, on Friday (December 23), NBC News reports.
The package includes a significant boost to military spending with nearly $45 billion put toward assistance to Ukraine to combat Russia's ongoing invasion.
The bill also overhauls federal election law by revising the Electoral Count Act of 1887 in an effort to prevent any acts similar to the January 6, 2021 insurrection from taking place in the future.
The vote was 225 to 201 with nine Republicans voting in favor of the measure, one Democrat voting against it and one member, Rep. Rashida Tlalib (D-Mich.) voting present.
“We have a big bill here, because we have big needs for our country,” outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on the congressional floor via NBC News. “At the same time — please to put a penny in the old man’s hat — we address the needs of America’s working families, with special focus on our children.”
The legislation had previously passed the Senate by a 68-29 vote on Thursday (December 22) and President Biden has publicly championed it prior to it passing Congress.