Democrats hailed the $46 billion increase they secured for domestic programs, calling the $730 billion total the largest investment in four years.
“This bill invests in future prosperity, in our health, and reduces everyday costs for millions of Americans, such as child care, a college education, and heating and cooling costs,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who leads the Appropriations Committee.
The last-minute scuffles reflected the arduous negotiations over the package, which dragged out more than five months past the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year that it is supposed to fund. To secure Republican support, Democrats agreed to go above the administration’s request for Pentagon spending and maintain a series of longstanding restrictions on federal money that they had hoped to remove, including the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for most abortions.
The package provides $145 billion to invest in new aircraft, ships and other vehicles, including 13 new Navy vessels, a dozen F/A-18 Super Hornets and 85 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. It also provides a 2.7 percent pay raise for all 2.1 million uniformed service members as well as the approximately 750,000 civilian employees in the Defense Department.
Even without the emergency aid package, Democrats secured additional funds for pandemic preparedness. That includes $745 million, an increase of $148 million, for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and $845 million, an increase of $140 million, for the Strategic National Stockpile, an emergency medical reserve intended to guard against infectious disease and bioterrorism threats.
Democrats also won increases for maternal and child health programs, tribal programs, public education and programs addressing mental health crises.
And Congress agreed to direct millions of dollars toward its own employees and support of the Capitol complex. The U.S. Capitol Police will receive $602.5 million, an increase of $87 million, to help expand its ranks after the Jan. 6 riot, while House congressional offices will see their budgets expand 21 percent, the largest increase since 1996, to try to stem the drain of institutional knowledge and prevent staff from seeking better pay off Capitol Hill.