All but two Democrats voted yes. One voted present, and one voted no. Two hundred Republicans voted no, nine voted yes, and four did not vote.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spoke in favor of the bill, saying on the House floor before the vote it would “keep from shutting government down and meet the needs of the American people.”
She noted specific provisions, including an increase in funding for people impacted by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and $45 billion in additional funding to Ukraine.
Congress was supposed to pass 12 months of funding for fiscal year 2023 by the end of September but instead resorted to several short-term spending packages as party leaders negotiated a larger package, which ended up being the omnibus.
Some House Republicans had urged counterparts in the Senate to block the mammoth bill, noting that Republicans are poised to take control of the lower chamber in January 2023 after flipping about a dozen seats in the midterm elections.
Passing another short-term funding bill would enable Republicans to negotiate from a position of power after the swearing in of the new Congress, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and supporters said.
Eighteen Senate Republicans voted with Democrats to pass the omnibus.
On the House floor, McCarthy urged a no vote on the bill.
McCarthy, who is trying to become the next House speaker once Republicans take control of the lower chamber in January 2023, said that the bill would “line the pockets of Democrats’ special interests and stick the hardworking Americans with the tab.”
“I'll guarantee not a single member who will vote yes can tell you what is in it because no one has had the time to read it,” he added. The omnibus runs more than 4,000 pages.
Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Rules Committee, said that the package “offers tremendous investments in American families and workers while strengthening democracy at home and abroad.”
Among the provisions, McGovern highlighted $1 billion for Puerto Rico’s electrical grid, record funding for Medicaid, and money to address the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi.
The omnibus also includes a reformation of the Electoral Count Act of 1887 by, in part, naming each state’s governor as the person responsible for submitting the state’s electoral certificate to Congress and barring the acceptance of any slates offered by other officials unless the state’s law or constitution says otherwise.
“I’m not thrilled about everything in this package. Quite frankly, the endless increases in defense spending year after year, I find that to be appalling,” McGovern added later.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) later took to the floor to point out that Democrats in Congress, with President Joe Biden’s help, have already spent trillions since Biden took office in January 2021.
“This $1.7 trillion spending bill will do nothing more but drive up inflation even more and reduce real wages down further,” he said.
Rep Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), one of the no-votes, said in a statement after the vote that “Due to Democrats’ reckless spending and failed policies, every family is experiencing the most expensive Christmas in history, our southern border is in chaos, and energy costs are skyrocketing.”
“Instead of addressing these crises, Lame Duck Democrats doubled down on their radical wish list that spends nearly two trillion taxpayer dollars to expand their radical agenda,” she added.
Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), among the yes-votes, said the legislation “will strengthen vital support systems such as Medicaid in vulnerable areas, assist working families with rent and mortgage payments, combat rising kitchen table costs, increase service members’ pay, and improve veterans’ healthcare.”
Biden cheered the passage of the omnibus and said he would sign it as soon as it got to his desk.
Biden portrayed the bill as containing provisions each party wanted.
“Neither side got everything it wanted in this agreement – that’s what happens in a negotiation,” he said in a statement, adding that the bill was “further proof that Republicans and Democrats can come together to deliver for the American people, and I’m looking forward to continued bipartisan progress in the year ahead.”
