Lawmakers unveil a $1.7 trillion U.S. spending bill as shutdown deadline looms

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Monday about negotiations on the government spending package.

J. Scott Applewhite / J. Scott Applewhite

Congressional leaders unveiled a government-wide $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that includes another large round of aid to Ukraine, a nearly 10% boost in defense spending and roughly $40 billion to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters.

The bill, which runs for 4,155 pages, includes about $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs and $858 billion in defense funding and would last through the end of the fiscal year in September.

Lawmakers worked to stuff in as many priorities as they could into the sprawling package, likely the last major bill of the current Congress. They are racing to complete passage before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday.