Senate passes $1.5 trillion government funding bill, sending it to Biden

The U.S. Capitol building. — (Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

The Senate on Thursday night passed a $1.5 trillion government funding bill, averting a shutdown that would have started Friday night.

The bill, which funds the government through the end of September, passed with a vote of 68-31. It was approved by the House on Wednesday night, and is now on its way to President Biden's desk for his signature.

The package includes $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine, which will be used for the deployment of U.S. troops and equipment to Europe and to help refugees. "The Ukrainian people are fighting for their lives and fighting for the survival of their young democracy," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said before the vote. "Congress has a moral obligation to stand behind them as they resist the evils of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and his campaign of carnage."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.