The Senate voted 79-18 on Thursday afternoon to approve an omnibus budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2017. The House passed the same measure on Wednesday by a 309-118 vote. The bill now goes to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature. If the President signs the bill before midnight on May 4, it will mark the second time in two weeks that lawmakers have narrowly averted a shutdown of the federal government. The bill gives the Department of Defense a $12.5 billion boost, with another $2.5 billion to be released upon the delivery of Trump’s new plan to defeat ISIS.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
