The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a $460 billion package of spending bills that will keep money flowing to key federal agencies through the remainder of the budget year. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation before the closing deadline at midnight on Friday.

Lawmakers are negotiating a second package of six bills, including defense bills, in an effort to have all federal agencies fully funded before the March 22 deadline. Ultimately, total discretionary spending set by Congress is expected to amount to about $1.66 trillion for the full amount.

whole

year.

A significant number of Republicans in the House of Representatives have come out against the spending packages, forcing House Speaker Mike Johnson

(

R-La.

),

to use an expedited process to bring the bill to a vote. That process requires two-thirds of the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the measure before it passes.

The House approved the measure by a vote of 339-85.

Congress approves a short-term extension to avoid a shutdown

Non-defense spending in this year’s accounts is relatively flat in comparison

to with

the previous year. Advocates say keeping spending below inflation amounts to a budget cut, forcing agencies to be more frugal and focus manpower on top priorities. Johnson cited a 10% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency, a 7% cut to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and a 6% cut to the FBI.

But many Republican lawmakers were looking for much sharper cuts and more policy victories. The House Freedom Caucus, which includes dozens of the Republican Party’s most conservative members, urged Republicans to vote against the first spending package and oppose the second package under negotiation.

Despite giving Democrats higher spending levels, the omnibus text released points on nearly every Republican policy priority so far, the group said.

Johnson countered that Republicans in the House of Representatives have only a two-vote majority in the House, while Democrats control the Senate and the White House.

We have to be realistic about what we can achieve, Johnson said.

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Democrats blocked most policymakers that Republicans in the House of Representatives wanted to include in the package. For example, they beat back an attempt to block new rules expanding access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

Democrats also said the bill would fully fund a nutrition program for low-income women, infants and children, providing about $7 billion for what is known as the WIC program. That’s an increase of $1 billion from the previous year.

As part of those negotiations, Republicans in the House of Representatives have pushed to allow some states to ban the purchase of non-nutritious foods, such as sugary drinks and snacks, in the food stamp program known as SNAP. The GOP effort has been unsuccessful so far, but supporters say they will try again on spending bills next year.

The bill certainly doesn’t contain everything we might have wanted, but I am very proud to say that we have successfully defeated the vast majority of the extreme cuts and hundreds of harmful policies proposed by Republicans in the House of Representatives , said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

However, Republicans in the House of Representatives were able to score some policy victories. For example, one provision will prevent the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. Another policy mandate prohibits the Justice Department from investigating parents who exercise free speech rights at local school board meetings.

Congress passes a law to prevent a government shutdown

Another provision strengthens gun rights for certain veterans.

Current law requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to send a beneficiary’s name to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System when appointing a fiduciary to help administer someone’s benefits because they lack the mental capacity to manage his own affairs. This year’s spending package prohibits the department from passing on that information unless a relevant judicial authority determines the beneficiary is a danger to themselves or others.

Rep. Mark Takano, the top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said a finding of mental incompetence by the VA is typically based on very serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and dementia.”

They desperately wanted to make sure vulnerable veterans had access to more firearms, Takano said. This is wrong. Lives are at stake. Veterans’ lives are at stake, and I do not support legislation that will cause more lives to be lost to gun violence.

Republicans have argued that current VA policies prevent some veterans from seeking the care and benefits they have earned.

In a closed-door meeting with the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, to demonstrate that Republicans were making some policy victories in the negotiations, Johnson read from a news report about how Democrats had heartburn over the gun supply, according to a Republican who was familiar with the negotiations. discussion that was not authorized to talk about it publicly.

Biden signs a bill to prevent a government shutdown for the time being, as aid to Israel and Ukraine continues to stall

Bills to fund federal agencies are more than five months overdue as the budget year begins on October 1. 1. House Republicans nevertheless describe an improved process, saying they have broken the cycle of passing all the spending bills in one big package, which lawmakers have little time to study before being asked to vote on it , otherwise they risk a government shutdown.

But critics of the bill, like Rep. Scott Perry

(

R-Pa.

)

were dismissive of the extent to which the process actually changed.

The first package includes the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior and Transportation.

Democrats overwhelmingly supported the bill, with 207 voting in favor and two voting against. The vote among Republicans was 132 to 83.

“Once again, Democrats protected the American people and provided the overwhelming majority of votes needed to get things done,” said House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Representative Kevin Hern

(

R-Okla.

),

said he was against the bill because I have not thought about it since I came here. We need to get spending under control and we have lost influence.

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.