The House voted 211-198 Thursday to pass a potential $1.2 trillion spending package to fund government operations for fiscal year 2018, The Hill reported Thursday.The appropriations package contains four bills the House approved in July and eight new spending measures and its approval came a week after Congress passed a three-month continuing resolution that would fund the government at current spending levels until Dec. 8.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) said the package’s approval marks the first time the lower chamber has passed on time all 12 appropriations bills since 2009.
The budget package would allocate $621.5 billion for defense operations, $511 billion in nondefense discretionary funds and $87 billion in overseas contingency operations funds.
Politico also reported that the spending package would appropriate $1.6 billion in funds to construct structural barriers along the border between the U.S. and Mexico and allocate $47.4 billion for the State Department and overseas operations.
The departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security are among the agencies that would see budget increases under the 12-bill package.
The fiscal 2018 spending bill is not expected to be signed into law by the start of fiscal 2018 on Oct. 1 as House lawmakers need to reach a compromise on the package with the Senate, the report added.
