Congress has passed the final 12-bill, $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2023 omnibus appropriations package, which includes $858 billion in national defense spending and $45 billion to assist Ukraine, sending the legislation to the president’s desk for final signature.
Facing a looming government shutdown deadline, the Senate first passed the omnibus with a 68 to 29 vote on Thursday before the House voted 225 to 201 on Friday afternoon to approve the legislation.
“I am pleased that the Senate has passed the FY ‘23 omnibus appropriations package, which represents a serious commitment to our national defense, aid for Americans in need as a result of natural disasters, and continuing support for the people of Ukraine as they fight against Russian aggression. The road we traveled to get to this point has been long and winding at times, but we got to yes. It has been my great privilege and high honor to lead this committee with [Senate Appropriations Committee] Chairman [Patrick] Leahy (D-Vt.), and I thank him for his help in getting where we are today. Today, we did our job and funded the government,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the committee’s vice chairman, said in a statement.
Leahy and Shelby are both retiring from Congress at the end of the current session.
Lawmakers rolled out the final FY ‘23 omnibus early Tuesday morning following months of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations, with much of the debate focused on Republicans’ opposition to the level of parity in increases between defense and non-defense spending (Defense Daily, Dec. 20).
The $858 billion for defense topline aligns with the recently passed FY ‘23 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and includes $797.7 billion for the Pentagon, an increase of $24.7 billion over the president’s budget request and $69.3 billion more than the enacted FY ‘22 level.
The $45 billion for Ukraine, which would be the fourth such emergency spending measure and is $6.2 billion more than the White House requested, includes $9 billion for the Pentagon’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to procure capabilities for Kyiv and increases the presidential drawdown authority to transfer weapons to Ukraine by another $14.5 billion.
The supplemental funding measure also covers $11.9 billion to help replenish U.S. stocks of equipment sent to Ukraine.
In the Senate, all 29 ‘No’ votes were cast by Republicans, with three senators not voting.
Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Steve Womack (R-Ark.) were the nine Republicans to join nearly all House Democrats in voting for the bill.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) was the sole Democrat to vote against the bill, while Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) voted ‘present.’
President Biden on Friday also signed the FY ’23 NDAA into law, after the House passed the annual policy legislation on December 8 followed by a Senate vote to approve the bill on December 15 (Defense Daily, Dec. 16).