House and Senate leaders announced the release of a $1.5 trillion bipartisan omnibus package for fiscal year (FY) 2022 on March 9. The agreement also encompasses an emergency supplemental for Ukraine security and humanitarian needs ($13.6 billion). The topline spending numbers for the various appropriations bills were previously negotiated by the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate appropriations committees, though the outbreak of war in Ukraine necessitated alterations to some figures. The bill initially included a second emergency supplemental for continued COVID-19 response efforts ($15.6 billion), but this section was removed after a group of Democrats opposed the proposed clawback of approximately $7 billion in previously awarded state and local aid funds to partially offset the cost of the supplemental.
The package cleared the House on March 9. The defense portion passed on a 361 to 69 vote and the nondefense sections on narrower vote of a 260 to 171. The House also approved a short continuing resolution to fund the government through March 15, which ultimately was not needed. The omnibus subsequently cleared the Senate on the evening of March 10 on a 68-31 vote. Republican amendments to remove earmarks, block funding for COVID-19 vaccine mandates and bolster hurricane-related disaster relief were voted down.
The bill provides $730 billion for non-defense discretionary spending, a 6.7% rise over FY 2021 levels and the largest increase in four years. Defense spending totals $782 billion, a 5.6% increase from FY 2021. This is a sticking point for progressive Democrats who oppose the increase. Their position necessitated two votes on the bill in the House, one on the Commerce-Justice-Science, Defense, and Homeland Security segments and another on the remaining sections.
The omnibus also carried several notable additions, including a reauthorization of the lapsed Violence Against Women Act, cybersecurity reporting requirements drawn from a package approved by the Senate last week and the first earmarks since the practice was banned in 2011.
The omnibus increased funding from FY 2021 levels across all 12 appropriations categories. The funding is broken down below and additional details on each bill are available here and here.
* When excluding offsetting collections and major disaster funding
