The spending bill, known as the omnibus, would provide funding through fiscal year 2022, which started in October. Lawmakers have been negotiating over the legislation for months and have passed three stopgap funding bills to keep the government running in the meantime. That means federal agencies have been funded at 2021 levels for the past five months.
The spending bill calls for more than $1.5 trillion in annual appropriations, excluding the Ukraine aid. That’s more than a 6% increase from the year before, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Here’s what some of the money will fund, according to summaries and fact sheets provided by the House Appropriations Committee:
Increases for congressional offices, staff and police
The bill calls for an increase in funding for congressional offices by 21%, to $774.4 million, so they can recruit and retain a diverse workforce. It would be the largest boost in the Members Representational Allowance appropriation since its authorization in 1996. The package would also provide $18.2 million to pay interns.
It would provide $602.5 million for the Capitol Police, an increase of $87 million. This will allow for the hiring of up to 2,112 sworn officers and 450 civilian members of the Capitol Police.
A boost for the IRS
The spending bill would provide $12.6 billion for the Internal Revenue Service, an increase of $675 million, the largest since 2001.
Money for election security
The package would provide $75 million for election security grants to bolster state efforts to improve the security and integrity of elections for federal office. It also would give the Election Assistance Commission $20 million for operating expenses, a boost of $3 million.
Schools and financial aid boost
The bill would provide $17.5 billion for high-poverty K-12 schools, an increase of $1 billion, the largest in more than a decade. And it calls for increasing funding for Head Start by $289 million to $11 billion.
The maximum Pell Grant would increase by $400, to $6,895 a year. Pell Grants are generally awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial needs, and the amounts are based on their costs to attend school, family sizes and incomes.
Funds for medical research and public health
The package would provide more funding for biomedical and behavioral research at the National Institutes of Health, which would receive $45 billion in funding, an increase of $2.25 billion. It would include $1 billion to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health in order to speed up the pace of scientific breakthroughs for diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and cancer.
It would send $8.5 billion to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an increase of $582 million. And it would invest in the nation’s public health infrastructure and public health and behavioral health initiatives, including $83 million for safe motherhood and infant health, an increase of $20 million, and nearly $212 million for mental health resources for children and youth, an increase of $25 million.
Unlocks new infrastructure investment
The passage of the spending bill would allow the release of some of the funding authorized by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which passed in November.
Renews the Violence Against Women Act
Child nutrition programs
The bill would also authorize funds so that more fruits and vegetables can be included in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children food packages.
More housing aid
Some of the funds would create 25,000 new Housing Choice Vouchers for low-income individuals and families at risk of homelessness, including survivors of domestic violence and veterans. Eligible people could use the vouchers to find their own housing and pay rent.
Cybersecurity protection
Closing a vaping loophole
While the FDA has authority over tobacco products, some companies have made their own synthetic nicotine in the lab. Because synthetic nicotine doesn’t come from tobacco, companies have managed to circumvent the agency’s oversight and keep their flavored products on shelves.
Defense
Ukraine aid
The $13.6 billion would provide additional humanitarian, security and economic assistance for Ukraine and allies in the region.
Roughly half of the aid package would be used to deploy troops to the region and send defense equipment to Ukraine, according to a summary of the bill provided by the House Appropriations Committee.
The US has deployed thousands of troops throughout Europe, both before and during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But putting troops on the ground in Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, is a line that the US and its Western allies have not been willing to cross.
Much of the other half of the aid would provide humanitarian support for refugees fleeing Ukraine and people displaced within the country, including emergency food assistance, as well as help to respond to the economic needs in Ukraine and neighboring countries, such as cybersecurity and energy issues.
What’s not in the bill? Covid-19 relief
The bill text originally included $15.6 billion to fund the government’s Covid-19 response efforts in the US and around the world, including research and development of treatments and vaccines.
Instead, House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, introduced a stand-alone bill with the Covid-19 response funds. But it’s unlikely that the separate package would get the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate.
This story has been updated Thursday with Congress passing the spending bill.
