Democrats unveil spending bill to finance government through Dec. 16

From Transport Topics.

Democratic lawmakers have unveiled a stopgap spending measure to finance the federal government through Dec. 16, provide additional support to Ukraine and help communities respond to recent natural disasters.

Both chambers of Congress must approve legislation by the end of Sept. 30, which is the end of the fiscal year, to prevent a partial government shutdown. It represents the last bit of unfinished business for lawmakers before the midterm elections in November. Both sides are eager to wrap up and spend time on the campaign trail, lowering the risk of a federal stoppage.

The bill provides about $12.3 billion in assistance related to Ukraine, including training, equipment, weapons and direct financial support for the Ukraine government. The assistance would be on top of some $53 billion Congress has already approved through two previous bills.

The measure excludes the White House call for spending $22 billion to respond to COVID, and $3.9 billion to fight against an outbreak of the monkeypox virus. Republican lawmakers were overwhelmingly opposed to the health funding. At least 10 Republican senators would have to support the measure for it to overcome procedural hurdles and advance in that chamber.

See the complete article from Transport Topics online.