House passes $1.5 trillion spending bill with $13.6 billion Ukraine aid hours after introduction

JUST THE NEWS | By Madeleine Hubbard | March 9, 2022

The U.S. House on Wednesday evening passed a $1.5 trillion spending bill to avert a government shutdown and provide $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. 

The bill, which was split into two parts, was passed the same day it was introduced. The defense portion of the legislation passed 361-69, the House Press Gallery reports. The domestic spending portion passed 260-171, with one “present” vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had included $15 billion in COVID-19 relief funds in the bill, but the money was removed after objections from fellow Democrats.

The federal government would run out of funding by Friday without the bill.