On Tuesday morning, federal lawmakers made public a massive $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill.
The bill, a 4,155 page document, comes after negotiations between Senate Republicans and House and Senate Democrats, as they attempt to prevent government funding from running out. Lawmakers have until the end of the week to pass the legislation.
Some lawmakers voiced complaints about the turnaround time to read the massive bill, containing $858 billion in defense spending and $772.5 billion in nondefense discretionary spending.
Republican North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop posted a lengthy Twitter thread in the afternoon, pointing to some of the “egregious” provisions of the bill.
One provision in the bill states that “not less than” $575 million “should be made available for family planning/reproductive health, including in areas where population growth threatens biodiversity or endangered species.”
Another section requires $410 million to “remain available” to reimburse Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Oman for “enhanced border security,” stating that at least $150 million must go to Jordan.
Meanwhile, the bill allocates $1.56 billion to Customs and Border Protection for “border management requirements” and $339.6 million to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for “non-detention border management requirements.” These funds are prohibited from being used to “acquire, maintain, or extend border security technology and capabilities” unless they’re for improving processing.
About $3 million goes toward the Pollinator-Friendly Practices on Roadsides and Highway Rights-of-Way Program, according to the bill, which provides grants to state departments of transportation, Native American tribes and federal land management agencies for “activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway rights-of-ways” like planting certain forms of fauna, or implementing certain mowing strategies.
Additionally, the bill makes available $65 million “for necessary expenses associated with the restoration of Pacific salmon populations,” giving the secretary of commerce the authority to issue grants of the funds to six states and tribes of the Columbia River and Pacific Coast in connection to projects for threatened, endangered or at-risk salmon and steelhead populations and requires at least 33% matching of funds or in-kind contributions for money given to states for Pacific salmon population restoration projects.
One earmark included in the spending bill asks for $3.6 million for a project called “Michelle Obama Trail – PATH Trail Project” in Georgia.
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