As senators raced to enact the plan, which includes record military spending, before temporary funding expires at the end of the week, negotiators in the US Congress revealed a $1.7 trillion federal funding bill on Monday.
The proposed legislation would provide more funding overall than the roughly $1.5 trillion that was appropriated the prior year.
By the end of the week, leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives hoped to pass the legislation and deliver it to Democratic President Joe Biden in order to prevent any delays in the government’s operations.
Democrats and Republicans have been at odds over how much cash should be allocated to military and non-military programmes for months.
The plan includes an additional $44.9 billion in emergency assistance for Ukraine and NATO partners.
This would be in addition to the record military spending for the year of $858 billion, up from $740 billion last year and above Biden’s goal.
The “omnibus” bill funding the government through the end of this fiscal year on September 30, 2023, had been designed to include as many legislative wish-list items as possible without derailing the entire package.
Failure could result in a partial government shutdown starting on Saturday, two days before Christmas, and could also result in a protracted standoff once Republicans take over the House on January 3 and break the Democratic majority that Vice President Biden’s party has held in both chambers of Congress.
