How Congress plans to spend $1.7 trillion

Lawmakers unveil their year-end government funding legislation; China struggles to contain a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

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Congress compromises on $1.7 trillion spending bill

Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images

• Congress released a roughly $1.7 trillion federal spending bill to fund the government through the 2023 fiscal year and avert a shutdown. [CNN /Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco]
• The legislation, which comes after weeks of negotiations, appropriates $858 billion in defense spending — a 10 percent increase over last year. [Roll Call / Lindsey McPherson and Aidan Quigley]
• It provides about $45 billion for Ukraine to fend off Russia’s ongoing invasion, and $40 million to help US communities recover from extreme weather events. [Politico]
• To prevent another January 6, the legislation clarifies the role of the vice president in certifying elections. It also bans TikTok on government devices over concerns about Chinese spying. [The Hill / Aris Folley]
• It doesn’t include some of the social spending many Democrats pushed for, including an expanded child tax credit for low-income families or additional money for coronavirus relief. [Washington Post / Tony Romm]
• Both chambers are likely to vote for the package this week and send it to President Joe Biden for final approval. [Reuters / Richard Cowan and Gram Slattery]

China's Covid crisis

• China is facing a surge in Covid-19 cases after abandoning some of its “zero-Covid” policies, which sought to eliminate the virus. [Deutsche Welle]
• Health authorities claim the death toll so far has been low; however, a recent study predicts up to 1 million people in China could die from Covid-19 over the next year. [Axios / Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian]
• Chinese officials recently made rules for confirming coronavirus cases and deaths more stringent, making it difficult for international observers to determine the real scope of the spike. [BBC / Thomas Mackintosh]
• Other governments are increasingly concerned the massive surge could produce a new variant and roil the global economy. [ Reuters / Trevor Hunnicutt, Julie Steenhuysen, and Andreas Rinke]

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Twitter Blue, Elon Musk’s paid verification system, has resumed issuing check marks to users for $8 or $11 per month. [Vox / Sara Morrison]

• Families are stranded at the southern border after the Supreme Court paused plans to end a Trump-era border policy used to expel migrants. [CNN]
• The Taliban on Tuesday banned women from attending public and private universities, reversing its promise to uphold women’s rights. [Associated Press]
• A House Committee will vote Tuesday on whether to make years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns public. [New York Times / Alan Rappeport]

“China’s vaccine nationalism is deeply tied to Xi’s pride, and accepting Western assistance would not only embarrass Xi, it would also pierce his oft-propagandized narrative that China’s governance model is superior.”

[Craig Singleton, deputy director of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies / Reuters]

Criminal referrals for Donald Trump

The January 6 committee sent the Justice Department four criminal referrals against the former president, who it alleges engaged in an elaborate criminal conspiracy to remain in office after his 2020 defeat. Vox’s Andrew Prokop explains what happens next.

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