The House passed a $1.2 trillion spending package on March 22 to fund 70 percent of the government. The package now heads to the Senate which has hours to pass it before a midnight shutdown deadline.
The final tally was 286–134 with 112 Republicans and 23 Democrats against it.
The bill, unveiled Thursday, was approved under an expedited process that requires a two-thirds majority for passage—in addition to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) waiving the House rule that requires members to have 72 hours to review legislation before it is voted on.
House conservatives have railed against the spending package and Mr. Johnson’s waiving of the 72-hour rule.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Gal.) today filed a motion to strip Mr. Johnson of the gavel, known as a motion to vacate. But she told reporters “it’s more of a warning and a pink slip” as she does “not wish to inflict pain on our conference and to throw the House in chaos”—as was the case in September when Mr. Johnson’s predecessor, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), was ousted from the position.
The spending package now heads to the Senate, where it is unclear how fast it will be cleared and sent to President Joe Biden’s desk. It could pass the upper chamber quickly only if no senator objects to expediting the process.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a libertarian and spending hawk, has not ruled out slowing down the bill’s passage in the Senate, telling The Hill he would try to amend the package, which could result in delaying passing the bill on time.
The bill would fund the Departments of State, Defense, Treasury, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
The Pentagon would get $825 billion—$27 billion more than in the 2023 fiscal year—including $92 million more than requested by the Biden administration to improve U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s deterrence amid the threat from China. There is $108 billion allocated for U.S. security cooperation with Taiwan and $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which consists of training, equipment, and other means to aid Ukraine.
By Jackson Richman and Joseph Lord
Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com
