The House passed a $1.4 trillion spending package Tuesday, sending it to the Senate as Congress rushes to prevent a government shutdown.
The chamber easily approved two measures to fund the government through Sept. 30. The Senate needs to pass the legislation — and President Donald Trump has to sign it — by Friday to keep federal departments running.
Trump is not expected to create much drama around the funding plan. The president is "poised" to sign the appropriations bills when they reach his desk, White House advisor Kellyanne Conway said earlier Tuesday.
The House passed the sprawling legislation less than a day after lawmakers released it. It not only boosts domestic and military spending, but also makes several significant, unrelated changes.
One measure the House approved contained eight appropriations bills, the other had four. The first passed by a 297-120 margin. The second cleared the chamber in a 280-138 vote.
The legislation scraps some tools used to fund the Affordable Care Act such as the "Cadillac" tax on high-cost plans. It also raises the federal tobacco buying age to 21.
The spending package also includes:
- $1.375 billion for fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border, no change from the prior year but less than Trump desires for a political priority
- $25 million for gun violence research — the first time Congress has funded it in 20 years
- A 3.1% raise for both military service members and federal civilian employees
- A $22 billion increase in defense spending
- $425 million for election security grants
- $1.5 billion for state grants to address to the opioid crisis
Pockets of both the Democratic and Republican parties opposed spending bills. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus opposed the legislative package that included Homeland Security Department appropriations, saying it was "effectively a blank check that will allow the Administration to continue redirecting billions from real national security priorities to instead inflict cruelty and militarize our border."
Meanwhile, members of the conservative Republican House Freedom Caucus objected to the increases in spending and rushed nature of the bill.