JUST IN: The Senate passed a $1.5T spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown and provide $13.6B in emergency aid for Ukraine.
Republicans strongly backed that spending. But they criticized Biden for moving too timidly, such as in the unresolved dispute with Poland over how that nation could give MiG fighter jets to Ukraine that its pilots know how to fly.
The $1.5 trillion bill carrying that aid gave Democrats a near 7% increase for domestic initiatives, which constituted a bit less than half the package. That translated to beefed-up spending for schools, housing, child care, renewable energy, biomedical research, law enforcement grants to communities and feeding programs.
The GOP also prevailed in retaining decades-old restrictions against using federal money to pay for nearly all abortions. And they forced Biden to abandon goals for his 2022 budget — politically implausible from the start — that envisioned 16% domestic program increases and defense growth of less than 2%.
Affirming the practice's popularity, the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., to strip the earmarks. Braun said they encompassed 367 pages that weighed five pounds and showed “the swamp is rising again.” The amendment's defeat by a bipartisan 64-35 margin spoke for itself. The Senate sent Biden a separate bill financing agencies through Tuesday in case it takes time to complete the required reprinting and proofreading of the lengthy measure.
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