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H.R. 2617 OMNIBUS House Signed into Law 117th Congress

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023

4,155 Pages Released Before Dawn, Vote by Christmas

Satire notice: Spending figures, pork tracking, and editorial commentary are satirical estimates for entertainment purposes. Legislative history and vote records are real — verify at Congress.gov .

$1.7T
Total Spending
4,155
Pages
12
Divisions
48h
Text → Vote

4,155-page omnibus text released early morning

Absurdity
8
PASSED house
225 yeas 201 nays 4 NV

Spending Breakdown

12 divisions

Click any bar to jump to that division

Absurdity Index
8/10
7-8Hold My Gavel
Pork Barrel Meter
$15.30B$45.95 per taxpayer
$0$100B$1T+
"Pig Farm"
Equivalent to ~20 sports stadiums

Satirical estimate for entertainment purposes

Party Balance

D
Primary Sponsor Gerald E. Connolly
Democrat
Cosponsors (2 total)

Party breakdown data not available

Legislative Timeline

622 days total

H.R. 2617 introduced by Rep. Connolly as Performance Enhancement Reform Act

4,155-page omnibus text released early morning

Senate Motion to Proceed (70-25)

RUSHED

Senate passes (68-29)

RUSHED

House passes (225-201)

President Biden signs into law

Divisions Breakdown (12)

DIV A

Agriculture

$25.5B
Portion of total package 1.6%

Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023

Funds USDA, FDA, rural development programs, and food assistance. Includes farm subsidies that definitely aren't socialism.

$25.5B appropriated Division A of package
DIV B

Commerce-Justice-Science

$82.4B
Portion of total package 5.1%

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023

Funds DOJ, FBI, DEA, NASA, NOAA, and the Census Bureau. Your tax dollars going to space and also surveillance.

$82.4B appropriated Division B of package
DIV C

Defense

$797.7B
Portion of total package 49.8%

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2023

The big one. Nearly $800 billion for Pentagon operations, weapons systems, and military construction. Does not include the VA.

$797.7B appropriated Division C of package
DIV D

Energy & Water

$54B
Portion of total package 3.4%

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023

Funds DOE, Army Corps of Engineers, and nuclear weapons maintenance. Yes, really.

$54B appropriated Division D of package
DIV E

Financial Services

$27.6B
Portion of total package 1.7%

Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2023

Funds Treasury, IRS, federal courts, and the Executive Office of the President. The IRS finally got funding to answer the phone.

$27.6B appropriated Division E of package
DIV F

Homeland Security

$60.7B
Portion of total package 3.8%

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2023

Funds CBP, ICE, TSA, FEMA, Secret Service, and Coast Guard. Includes border wall funding debates.

$60.7B appropriated Division F of package
DIV G

Interior-Environment

$38.9B
Portion of total package 2.4%

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023

Funds EPA, National Parks, Fish and Wildlife, and Native American programs. Climate provisions vary by political mood.

$38.9B appropriated Division G of package
DIV H

Labor-HHS-Education

$207.4B
Portion of total package 12.9%

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023

The second largest division. Funds NIH, CDC, public schools, job training, and various social programs.

$207.4B appropriated Division H of package
DIV I

Legislative Branch

$6.9B
Portion of total package 0.4%

Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2023

Congress funding itself. Includes the Capitol Police, Library of Congress, and congressional salaries. No irony detected.

$6.9B appropriated Division I of package
DIV J

MilCon-VA

$154.2B
Portion of total package 9.6%

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023

Funds military base construction and the VA. One of the few bipartisan easy passes.

$154.2B appropriated Division J of package
DIV K

State-Foreign Ops

$59.7B
Portion of total package 3.7%

Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023

Funds State Department, USAID, foreign assistance, and international programs. Includes Ukraine aid.

$59.7B appropriated Division K of package
DIV L

Transportation-HUD

$87.3B
Portion of total package 5.4%

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023

Funds DOT, FAA, Amtrak, HUD, and housing assistance. Infrastructure that isn't quite the Infrastructure bill.

$87.3B appropriated Division L of package

Policy Riders & Hidden Provisions

7 found
Controversial 1

TikTok Ban on Government Devices

Prohibits TikTok on federal government devices within 60 days. The app your intern used to explain memes is now a national security threat.

Controversial
Buried Deep 1

PUMP Act

Expands protections for nursing mothers at work to include more employees. Named to be memorable, hidden on page 3,247.

Buried Deep
Policy Riders 3

Electoral Count Reform Act

Reforms the process for certifying presidential elections, clarifying the VP's ceremonial role and raising objection thresholds. A response to January 6th, slipped into a spending bill.

Policy Riders

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions. Good policy that couldn't get a standalone vote.

Policy Riders

Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program Extension

Extends the Afghan SIV program through 2024 and authorizes 4,000 additional visas for Afghan allies who assisted U.S. forces. Bipartisan but perpetually struggling for standalone floor time.

Policy Riders
Spending Riders 1

Earmarks Galore

Over 7,200 earmarks totaling $15.3 billion for member-requested projects. Pork is back, baby, and it's bipartisan.

Spending Riders
Tax Provisions 1

Retirement Savings Changes (SECURE 2.0)

Major retirement policy overhaul raising RMD age to 73, allowing employer matching of student loan payments, and creating emergency savings accounts. Tucked into page 2,046.

Tax Provisions

Rider: A provision attached to a must-pass bill that has little connection to the bill's main subject.

Watch the Sausage Get Made

See how this 4,155-page bill evolved through the legislative process, with pork tracking at every stage.

Congressional Research Service Summary

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (H.R. 2617) provides FY2023 appropriations for federal agencies and includes several other provisions. The omnibus packages all 12 regular appropriations bills into a single legislative vehicle, providing $1.7 trillion in discretionary spending.

The bill was assembled in its final form over a period of approximately 72 hours, with the full text released early morning on December 20, 2022. Members of Congress had roughly 48 hours to review 4,155 pages of legislation before the first procedural votes.

The Process

In a healthy legislative process, Congress would pass 12 individual appropriations bills through subcommittee and full committee markups, floor debate, conference committees, and final passage — all before the September 30 fiscal year deadline.

In practice, Congress missed that deadline by nearly three months. The government operated on a series of continuing resolutions while leadership negotiated behind closed doors. The final product was released in the dead of night with a “take it or leave it” ultimatum backed by the threat of a government shutdown during the holiday season.

Notable Provisions

This omnibus included major policy changes that had nothing to do with annual spending:

  • Electoral Count Reform: Post-January 6th reforms to presidential election certification
  • SECURE 2.0: The most significant retirement policy changes in years
  • TikTok Government Device Ban: Because national security
  • Over 7,200 earmarks: Approximately $15.3 billion in member-directed spending (per GAO/CRS)

Source: This is a real bill signed into law in the 117th Congress. View on Congress.gov.

Disclaimer: The absurdity score and editorial commentary above represent this site’s opinion. Bill details should be verified at Congress.gov.

On earmark line items: The aggregate earmark totals (~7,234 projects totaling $15.3 billion) are verified figures from GAO/CRS reporting. The individual earmark examples shown on this page are satirical illustrations — they feature real members of Congress in their actual policy areas with approximate dollar figures, but specific project names, amounts, and attributions may not match exact congressional earmark disclosures. The real omnibus contained over seven thousand earmarks; we picked a representative handful to give you the flavor. This is satire, not an audited ledger.

Congress.gov

Note: This page contains editorial commentary. Bill data is sourced from public congressional records and may not be fully current. Absurdity scores are subjective editorial ratings. Verify at Congress.gov →