The US Senate has approved $1.7tn annual spending bill to avoid a government shutdown and release $45bn in additional funds to support Ukraine, the day after a stirring plea from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the country’s president.
The vote on Thursday came after senators resolved a dispute over immigration policy that initially delayed consideration, and sends the bill over to the House of Representatives for a vote. Lawmakers from both parties expressed a desire to rush home for the holidays as winter storms snarl up travel across the country.
The bill’s $45bn in emergency assistance for Ukraine is even more than the Biden administration had initially requested. In a speech to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday evening, Zelensky said it was “not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”