Contents of the government funding bill

Congress unveiled a massive $1.2 trillion bill Thursday to fund the rest of the federal government.

The package is more than 1,000 pages long and would provide funding to the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State, and the Legislature. Lawmakers have until the end of Friday to approve the bill to avoid a partial government shutdown.

The bill would complete funding for federal agencies through the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Earlier this month, Congress approved funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. So are the Food and Drug Administration, military construction, and other federal programs.

House Republicans and Democrats each outlined their bill’s contents.

Homeland Security: The package, which would provide nearly $62 billion in discretionary funding to the Department of Homeland Security, was the most contentious spending bill lawmakers were negotiating. This would include nearly $59 billion for non-defense programs and more than $3 billion for defense-related programs. The total amount does not include any offsetting funds.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will receive nearly $20 billion, an increase of $3 billion from the previous fiscal year. Provides $495 million to bring the number of Border Patrol agents to a record 22,000, and $20 million to hire 150 more officers to support anti-fentanyl efforts. provide.

It would boost funding for processing capacity, medical care and child welfare support, but would not fund border wall construction. This would increase funding for Transportation Security Administration personnel by more than $1 billion.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will receive nearly $10 billion. More than $721 million will be provided for transportation and removal efforts for people who no longer have a legal basis to be in the U.S. or who pose a risk to public safety or security, more than $721 million in President Joe Biden’s budget. That’s nearly $292 million more than that.

As part of more than $3 billion in detention services, the largest amount ever appropriated, the number of detention beds will increase to 41,500, 7,500 more than those funded in the previous fiscal year.

The package would also increase funding to combat fentanyl and human body smuggling investigations, non-invasive testing technology, and staff to support record management and processing of detainees and detainees. Become.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will receive $281 million, of which $160 million will be dedicated to reducing refugee processing, asylum, and work permit backlogs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will receive more than $25 billion, a decrease of nearly $73 million from the previous fiscal year.

defense: The bill provides $824 billion for defense spending, an increase of nearly $27 billion starting in fiscal year 2023.

The move will raise basic pay for military personnel by 5.2%, the largest increase in more than 20 years. Additionally, the basic housing allowance will increase by 5.4%, and the food allowance will increase by 1.7%. Additionally, funding for suicide prevention and sexual assault programs will continue.

The package provides $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression. This funding is separate from a larger aid package for Ukraine currently stalled on Capitol Hill.

It would also maintain agency travel regulations that allow military personnel and their families to access reproductive health care. It would also cut nearly $51 million from diversity and inclusion programs, restoring support to fiscal year 2021 levels.

The bill would also increase military funding to Taiwan to $300 million. This funding comes from the State Department’s Foreign Military Financing Program. Last year, the United States first approved funding for Taiwan through the program. The program is normally only used against sovereign states, but the move infuriated China, which claims the autonomous islands as its own.

state: The package provides more than $58 billion for states, foreign operations, and related programs, a decrease of more than $3 billion from the previous fiscal year.

It would fully fund more than $3 billion in U.S. security commitments to Israel and prohibit taxpayer funds from going to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency., Or UNRWA, which helps Palestinian refugees, has come under fire after Israel claimed some of its staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack. The bill would also eliminate funding for the United Nations Commission of Inquiry into Israel. And it would impose new conditions on any aid to Gaza.

This will provide nearly $9 billion in international security assistance to allies and partners through international drug enforcement operations, counterterrorism programs, peacekeeping operations, and more.

It would also provide nearly $9 billion in humanitarian assistance to various migration, refugee, and international disaster programs.

To address China’s activities in the Indo-Pacific region, the package provides $300 million to Taiwan to support loans and loan guarantees, $400 million to the People’s Republic of China Influence Countermeasures Fund, and “China’s Rising Influence” Almost $2 billion will be provided to combat the The People’s Republic of China (China) in the developing world, according to a House Democratic Party fact sheet.

It would also direct $125 million to combat fentanyl and other synthetic drugs entering the United States from other countries for the first time.

The package would invest $10 billion in global health initiatives, including the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, and programs to improve maternal and child health and fight infectious diseases. be. This would be nearly $531 million less than the previous fiscal year.

It would provide an additional 12,000 special immigrant visas to Afghans assisting the United States.

education: The bill would provide $79 billion to the Department of Education, which is $500 million less than the previous fiscal year. That’s $22 billion more than House Republicans’ proposal, but $11 billion less than Biden’s budget request.

Nearly $44 billion would be provided for K-12 education. Approximately $18.4 billion, an increase of $20 million from fiscal year 2023, will go to Title I programs, the largest source of federal funding for K-12 schools.

The package calls for nearly $25 billion in fiscal year 2023 for federal student aid programs. This would keep the maximum amount of Pell Grants, the government’s main aid program for low-income college students, at $7,395 per student. Historically black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs, are receiving increased funding. Institutions that serve Hispanics. and tribally controlled colleges and universities.

There is no new funding for Biden’s proposed free community college initiative, according to a summary provided by House Republicans.

Financial services and general government: The package includes $26 billion for financial services and general government, a decrease of $1 billion, or 4%, from the previous fiscal year.

The Internal Revenue Service would receive $12 billion, the same amount as last year, but $1 billion more than House Republicans had hoped for.

The package would officially take back about $20 billion of the $80 billion provided to the IRS by the Democratic-backed Inflation Control Act. The repeal was agreed to by Democrats last year in a deal to address the debt ceiling and avoid a U.S. default. These funds would go to the IRS over a 10-year period to support the agency’s modernization and enforcement efforts.

Republicans and Democrats are at odds over funding the Internal Revenue Service. Despite assurances from Democrats that the IRS would not increase enforcement against taxpayers making less than $400,000 a year, Republicans argued that the IRS would use the funds to go after middle-class taxpayers and small business owners. ing.

The bill would provide $143 million for the Small Business Administration’s disaster relief efforts, the same amount as last year. Law enforcement agencies will receive nearly $9 billion, an increase of $169 million from the previous fiscal year.

The package would also provide $750 million for courtroom security for judges, their families, and employees. It will also provide $55 million in election security grants to states to combat voter fraud, maintain voter rolls, and improve federal election administration and security.

Labor: The policy would provide the Department of Labor with nearly $14 billion in aid, which is $145 million below last fiscal year’s level. That amount is nearly $5 billion more than House Republicans’ proposal.

It would provide more than $10 billion to employment and training agencies, slightly less than last year, while providing worker protection agencies with $1.9 billion, the same amount as last year’s package.

Health and welfare services: The bill would provide more than $117 billion to HHS. That’s $14 billion more than House Republicans’ proposal, but $12 billion less than Biden’s budget request.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant, which provides child care assistance to low-income parents, will receive nearly $9 billion, an increase of $725 million from the previous year. Head Start, which provides school readiness services to low-income families, will receive more than $12 billion, an increase of $275 million.

The package provides $4 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, an increase of $25 million from the previous fiscal year.

The National Institutes of Health will receive nearly $49 billion starting in FY21, excluding mandatory funding, an increase of $300 million from the previous fiscal year.^cent The cure of the century. The National Cancer Institute and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia research will receive a funding boost.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will receive $9 billion, with a small increase in funding for safe maternal and infant health and food safety.

The package would also provide additional funding for mental health and substance abuse programs and services.

meeting: The bill would provide nearly $7 billion to the Legislature, which would be $150 million below last fiscal year’s level. It would maintain support for Congressional offices’ operating budgets and provide funds to pay interns.

The U.S. Capitol Police will receive about $792 million, an increase of $57 million from the previous fiscal year. This will allow the military to hire up to 2,204 sworn officers and 636 civilian personnel to continue efforts to strengthen physical security at the Capitol. It also requests $2 million to provide security for lawmakers outside the Capitol, including security at their homes and district offices.