The House on Wednesday passed a two-bill, $77 billion spending package funding foreign aid and financial services agencies.
The 341-79 vote was the latest salvo in a delayed process to pass new spending bills for fiscal 2026, which began Oct. 1.
After a record 43-day shutdown that kicked off the fiscal year, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are celebrating their ability to come together and pass the 12 annual appropriations bills in smaller packages, rather than a massive catchall omnibus that has been common in previous years.
“When done the right way, funding the government is not a single vote,” said House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, Oklahoma Republican. “It is a process that requires steady, deliberate progress. I’m proud to say we are doing just that.”
One of the bills in the package passed Wednesday contains $50 billion in funding for the State Department and foreign aid programs.
Republicans touted the $9 billion it cuts from the previous fiscal year level, while Democrats celebrated preventing another $19 billion in cuts that President Trump requested in his budget.
The other bill in the package contains nearly $27 billion in funding for the Treasury Department, financial services agencies and spending that doesn’t fit neatly under an executive department, like funding for the White House and the District of Columbia.
The package was supposed to include a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, but negotiations on that measure have taken longer than initially anticipated as Democrats seek further restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the fatal shooting last week in Minneapolis.
The House has now passed eight of the 12 annual spending bills, and the Senate is following suit, although more slowly. Congress gave itself a Jan. 30 deadline, which lawmakers are on track to meet.
