In an 85-7 vote, the Senate approved its third "minibus" package of spending bills. This one was particularly important because it included funding for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Education, which is often a difficult package because of fights over abortion and other issues. Senators were able to avoid those fights in this case. “I am proud of what these bills contain and how the Senate has crafted them. I want to particularly thank Chairman [Richard] Shelby and Senator [Patrick] Leahy,” McConnell said ahead of the vote, referring to the top two members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The vote marked a big win for Senate leadership, which has not been able to pass funding for the Departments of Labor, Education or HHS, outside of an omnibus, since 2007. Senators are scrambling to avoid needing to pass another omnibus bill, which would roll the 12 traditional spending bills into one piece of legislation, after Trump warned in March that he would not sign a similar bill again. With Thursday’s vote the Senate has now passed nine of the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government past Sept. 30. The $854 billion Labor-HHS-Defense-Education bill alone accounts for roughly 60 percent of the 2019 appropriations bills. ADVERTISEMENT The defense and health appropriations bills, in particular, are a lightning rod for controversial, partisan amendments from both sides. But leadership made a deal earlier this year to avoid attacking so-called “poison pill” proposals, which would threaten bipartisan support, to the funding bills. The Senate, for example, rejected an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to cut off federal funding from Planned Parenthood. They also didn’t take up amendments tied to the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies or a bipartisan proposal that would have reined in Trump’s ability to revoke security clearances. The Senate and the House will still need to merge their competing bills once the House returns from Labor Day. Senators say their staffs have been in touch over the break. But lawmakers will face a legislative time crunch to get an agreement on the three packages as well as a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that is expected to be needed to fund part of the government. ADVERTISEMENT Congress has until Sept. 30 to pass legislation keeping the government open and avoiding the third shutdown of the year. Even as Trump appears to be keeping a shutdown on the table, McConnell and GOP senators are scrambling to prevent one happening less than two months before a midterm election where their party's control of Congress hangs in the balance. But a fight remains over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security past September. GOP leadership had signaled they would likely need to use a continuing resolution (CR) to keep part of the government, including DHS, open into the next fiscal year. That would allow leadership to punt a fight over funding Trump’s controversial U.S.-Mexico border wall until after the midterm election. But it’s unclear if Trump is on board with that strategy. Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), a close ally of Trump’s on immigration, said at a White House event earlier this week that the Senate would turn to funding DHS directly after it wraps up work on the Defense-Labor-Health and Human Services-Education package. “We’re going to have defense and HHS,” he said. “And then right after that we’ll do DHS and that’s where the debate will be.” And Trump has kept a potential shutdown on the table. "I would be willing to 'shut down' government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall! Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT!,” Trump said in a tweet last month. “We need great people coming into our Country!"<doc-sep>FILE PHOTO: A view from the U.S. Senate side shows the U.S. Capitol Dome (L) in Washington, U.S., October 4, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday for legislation to fund much of the government, including $675 billion for the Department of Defense, as lawmakers worked to minimize the risk of a government shutdown before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30. The Senate voted 85-7 to pass the $854 billion measure, which combines funding for the Pentagon with money for domestic programs including the Health and Human Services, Education and Labor Departments. Leaders of the Senate and the House have been trying to pass appropriations bills before Sept. 30 and avoid the threat of government shutdowns and the need for stopgap spending measures that have been common for several years. The Senate’s Republican and Democratic leaders agreed to combine the bills to increase their chances of passage in the chamber, where Republicans have just a 51-49 majority. Republicans generally favor increased military spending, and Democrats have been pushing to fund domestic programs. The two parties also agreed not to allow controversial amendments, also in the hope of boosting chances of passage. However, to become law, the spending plans must be approved by the House of Representatives, which is out of Washington until September and where President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans have a much larger majority. They must also be signed by Trump, who has expressed strong reservations about some aspects of the package and said he would welcome a government shutdown if necessary to win funding for his proposed wall on the border with Mexico.<doc-sep>WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday approved a massive spending bill that would direct more than $670 billion towards a wave of Defense Department increases, including the largest boost to servicemembers' pay in nearly a decade and new gains in the number of troops, equipment and weapons for the 2019 fiscal year. The measure, which was part of a larger funding package of more than $850 billion, will fund priorities directed in the recently passed 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which directs policy and spending plans for the Defense Department. The Senate voted 85 to 7 to pass the legislation, with some lawmakers absent, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who is battling brain cancer. The legislation, H.R. 6157, now goes to a congressional conference committee to be reconciled with its House version before requiring votes in both chambers. If approved, the legislation goes to the president for his signature. "The funds meet many of the requirements of our military commanders, equipping and training units to meet and overcome the most dangerous of emerging global threats," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said ahead of Thursday's vote. "As ever, our obligation to this all-volunteer force is to provide adequate training, weaponry and skills so that Americans always prevail on the battlefield." Last week, President Donald Trump signed into law a more than $715 billion NDAA authorizing a 2.6 percent pay raise for servicemembers, as well as new purchases of aircrafts, ships, submarines and weapons. In June, the House passed its defense appropriations measure, H.R. 6157, in a vote of 359 to 49, followed by today's Senate passage. Related content: The defense budget moves on two tracks: the annual NDAA sets policy changes and expenditures for the military and determines how the money will be spent, while the defense appropriations bill is what actually moves money to the Pentagon to support the plan. The defense spending legislation is part of a larger labor, health and human services and education spending bill, an unusual combination, a lawmaker noted. "It probably sounds like a pretty unusual combination even though I think most voters, most taxpayers understand that to get this work done in the time frame we have to do it, we generally need to bring more than one topic together on the floor at the same time," Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said Thursday of the combination of efforts being funded by the same appropriations bill, adding it could be on Trump's desk by the start of the fiscal year Oct. 1. The so-called "minibus" appropriations bill saw more than two days of debate on the Senate floor this week. During that time, Senators added measures to boost funding for the identification of Korean War remains by $10 million and trigger a study of a new digital, military health records system. The 2019 NDAA, H.R. 5515, passed Aug. 13 and will usher through a series of new reforms, such as revamping the military's "up or out" promotion system and policies to reign in sexual misconduct and domestic abuse among the ranks. The plan builds on the momentum to increase the size and might of the military in response to China and Russia's growing capabilities as laid out in Trump's $686 billion defense budget proposed earlier this year. The Trump request for fiscal year included an increase of more than 15,000 active-duty troops, which lawmakers matched in the NDAA. A two-year spending deal that lifted federal budget caps allowed the defense budget to increase to more than $715 billion. Coupled with approaching November midterm elections, lawmakers worked to pass the measures earlier than in past years. At this pace, it's possible the defense spending bill could see passage by Oct. 1, which would mark the first on-time passage of the NDAA and its funding companion bill in more than 20 years. However, lawmakers are on a tight clock. The House is on recess until Sept. 4, and Republican lawmakers are racing to confirm Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh ahead of the midterms. Congress is also facing an array of challenges from the Trump White House that could derail their work. For example, Trump has threatened not to sign off on government spending plans if there isn't sufficient money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. This, as Trump is facing questions tied to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and a growing list of former administration aides facing criminal charges, which could divert attention on Capitol Hill from finishing up its NDAA funding measure on time. Without a spending measure in place by Oct. 1, lawmakers might need to pass a temporary budget measure, which is known as a continuing resolution, to keep the government operating.<doc-sep>
U.S. President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn after arriving in Marine One from a recent trip to New York at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. senators agreed on Wednesday to debate and vote in the next few days on more than $850 billion in spending on defense, labor and healthcare programs, as the Trump administration announced its objections to some parts of the bill. The so-called “minibus” appropriations bill includes nearly $675 billion in spending for the Department of Defense, as well as about $182 billion for an array of domestic programs under the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies. Congressional aides said the Senate combined the two bills in the hope that President Donald Trump would not veto the domestic spending measure. Trump has threatened to shut down the government if Congress, which is controlled by his fellow Republicans, does not adhere to his spending priorities, especially his desire to spend billions of dollars to build a wall on the border with Mexico. On Wednesday, his administration announced its position on the bill. While not threatening a veto, the “Statement of Administration Policy” noted that the bill does not include administration proposals to reduce spending in areas such as education and healthcare research. It also balks at some defense spending reductions, including a $532 million reduction in Afghanistan security funding and a $406 million cut to a fund to train and equip U.S. partner forces in Iraq and Syria for the fight against Islamic State. Trump has threatened a government shutdown several times since taking office in 2017 in a bid to get his immigration priorities in congressional spending bills, especially funding for a wall along the southern U.S. border. Trump has asked for $25 billion to build the wall. Congress must agree on a spending measure to fund the government by a Sept. 30 deadline, or the federal government will be forced to suspend all but the most essential operations.