House Passes $1.2 Trillion Funding Package With Mostly Democratic Support

On Thursday, House leaders passed a $1.2 trillion spending package, hoping it will pass through the Senate by the end of the week.

Lawmakers are working to avoid a partial government shutdown that would begin after midnight on Saturday morning. The new package would boost budgets for the military through the end of September while maintaining funding for most non-defense agencies.

Speaker Mike Johnson called the new legislation a “serious commitment” to “strengthening our national defense” by moving the military toward its “core mission.”

This marks the most substantial bipartisan legislation Johnson has negotiated since taking point five months ago. The bill would put an end to the government funding work that haunted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy throughout his last nine months leading the house last year.

The Freedom Caucus has pressured leadership to cut federal funding and pass the 12 regular spending bills individually. However, Johnson decided to pursue bipartisan spending levels that almost exactly reflect a deal McCarthy reached with President Joe Biden before his exit.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) said Democrats were successful in blocking Republican efforts to limit women’s access to reproductive health care, haunting GOP attempts to eliminate Title X family planning and teen pregnancy prevention grants.

Democrats are also celebrating a new $1 billion grant for child care and Head Start programs, as well as $120 million for cancer research, $100 million for Alzherimer’s research, $1 billion for the Pentagon’s climate change activities and funding for a new FBI headquarters.

Article by Ava Lombardi