Senate passes $1.7 trillion bill to fund government, aid Ukraine

Lawmakers were racing to get the bill approved before a partial government shutdown would occur at midnight on Friday, and many were anxious to complete the task before a deep freeze and wintry conditions left them stranded in Washington for the holidays.

Many also want to lock in government funding before a new GOP-controlled House next year could make it harder to find compromise on spending.

Senators heard from Zelenskyy about the importance of US aid to his country for its war with Russia on Wednesday night.

The measure provides about USD 45 billion in military, economic and humanitarian assistance for the devastated nation and NATO allies, more than Biden even requested, raising total assistance so far to more than USD 100 billion.

"Your money is not charity," Zelenskyy told lawmakers and Americans watching from home. "It's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way."

Lawmakers were in disagreement over which amendments were to be voted upon to lock in a final vote on an expedited basis. The impasses had the potential to prevent passage of the bill before the midnight Friday deadline.

But negotiations overnight led to a breakthrough and senators gathered early Thursday morning to work through more than a dozen amendments before getting to a final vote.

The spending bill is supported by Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, though for different reasons.

McConnell cited the bill's 10 per cent boost in defence spending, which he says will give America's Armed Forces the funding and certainty needed to ensure the country's security.

"The world's greatest military will get the funding increase that it needs, outpacing inflation," McConnell said.

"Meanwhile, non-defense, non-veterans spending will come in below the rate of inflation, for a real-dollar cut." McConnell faced pushback from many Republicans who don't support the spending bill and resent being forced to vote on such a massive package with so little time before a potential shutdown and the Christmas holiday.

"There has not been enough time for a single person to have read this entire bill. The bill and process ignores soaring inflation, rising interest rates and our ballooning debt of $31 trillion," said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

"Enough is enough." For two senators, the bill puts the finishing touches on their work in Washington. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is retiring after serving some 48 years in the Senate and as the current chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

He negotiated the bill for months with Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the committee's ranking Republican, who was elected to the Senate in 1986 and is also retiring.

"What a capstone to a brilliant career," Schumer said.

The bill also contains roughly USD 40 billion in emergency spending in the US, mostly to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters.

And, of course, it includes scores of policy changes unrelated to spending that lawmakers sought to include in what is going to be the last major bill of the Congress, else they start from scratch next year in a divided Congress where Republicans will be returning to the majority in the House.

One of the most notable examples was a historic revision to federal election law that aims to prevent any future presidents or presidential candidates from trying to overturn an election.

The bipartisan overhaul of the Electoral Count Act is in direct response to former President Donald Trump's efforts to convince Republican lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence to object to the certification of Biden's victory on January 6, 2021.