Law­mak­ers unveil final spend­ing pack­age as Con­gress races to avoid shut­down

Law­mak­ers unveiled the leg­isla­tive text for its final appro­pri­a­tions pack­age overnight Thurs­day, start­ing the clock for Con­gress to push the 1012-page bill through both cham­bers and be signed by Pres­i­dent Joe Biden — all before mid­night on Fri­day. 
Short­ly before 3 a.m. East­ern, appro­pri­a­tors announced the $1 tril­lion minibus pack­age that com­bines fund­ing for the remain­ing spend­ing bills for the 2023 fis­cal year, fin­ish­ing a near­ly year­long process to fund the gov­ern­ment that has been extend­ed four times in order to fin­ish nego­ti­a­tions. The leg­is­la­tion comes just one day ahead of the shut­down dead­line, send­ing law­mak­ers into an all-out sprint to get the leg­is­la­tion passed before the gov­ern­ment enters a par­tial shut­down. 
 “This FY24 appro­pri­a­tions leg­is­la­tion is a seri­ous com­mit­ment to strength­en­ing our nation­al defense by mov­ing the Pen­ta­gon toward a focus on its core mis­sion while expand­ing sup­port for our brave men and women who serve in uni­form, Speak­er Mike John­son (R‑LA) said in a state­ment. “Over­all, dur­ing …