Lawmakers Unveil Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

“Congressional leaders unveiled a $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that includes another large round of aid to Ukraine, a nearly 10% boost in defense spending and roughly $40 billon to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters,” the AP reports.

“The bill includes about $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs and $858 billion in defense funding.”

“Lawmakers are working to stuff in as many priorities as they can into what is likely to be the last major bill of the current Congress. They are racing to complete passage of the bill before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday. Lawmakers leading the negotiations released the details of the bill shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday.”

Playbook: “Republicans continue to be at each other’s throats about whether Senate Republicans should have negotiated a spending deal at all.”