House clears omnibus bill, sending it to Biden
The House on Friday voted to advance Congress' $1.7 trillion spending package, just one day after it cleared the Senate by a 69-29 margin. The bill will now head to President Biden to be signed into law.
In passing the funding legislation, Congress successfully avoided a government shutdown that was set to take effect at midnight on Friday. Both the House and Senate also approved a one-week deadline extension, thereby affording Biden some extra time to sign, CNN notes.
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"We have a big bill here, because we have big needs for our country," outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said from the House floor. "At the same time — please to put a penny in the old man's hat — we address the needs of America's working families, with special focus on our children."
But Pelosi's Republican counterpart — Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — was none too pleased with the package: "This is a monstrosity. It is one of the most shameful acts I have ever seen in this body," he added ahead of the vote, claiming lawmakers should have waited until Republicans took over the House in January.
Biden has promised to sign the bill "as soon as it reaches my desk."
