On The Money — Senate passes $1.7 billion government funding package

The Senate passed its extensive spending package, paving the way for another House vote that will send it to President Biden’s desk. We’ll also look at how Trump was unable to pay income tax for several years.

📺 Aber zuerst, hi Wisconsin.

Welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything related to your bills, bank account, and bottom line. For CNNBreakingNews, we’re Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here or in the box below.

$1.7 trillion omnibus spending package adopted

The Senate voted on Thursday to pass a $1.7 trillion omnibus package that will fund the federal government through September, provide Ukraine with $45 billion in military and economic aid, and provide $38 billion for disaster relief.

It also includes reforms to the Electoral Count Act in response to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, clarifying that the vice president has no authority to overturn the results of a presidential election.

• In addition to the
  $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to combat gun violence, and the $280 billion Chips and Science Act to improve US competitiveness vis-à-vis China, the omnibus bill is one of several important achievements of bipartisan legislation in President Biden’s first two years in office.
• It is spending $858 billion on defense programs, an increase of 9.7 percent, and
  $772.5 billion on undefense programs, an increase of 5.5 percent. It also includes $118.7 billion for Veterans Affairs medical care, an increase of 22 percent, and $59 billion for programs approved under the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Congress passed last year.
• It provides 19.8 billion US dollars to arm and equip the Ukrainian armed forces and NATO allies and 12.9 billion US dollars to stabilize Ukraine’s economy and compensate for deficits. The adoption came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed a joint session of Congress to ask for further American support.

Next steps: The House of Representatives is expected to take up the legislation as early as Thursday evening and vote to send it to Biden’s desk before government funding expires at the end of Friday.

Alex Bolton from CNNBreakingNews has it all here.

Also from CNNBreakingNews

• These are the last-minute changes the Senate made to the $1.7 trillion omnibus

ADDIEREN

How Trump paid $0 in income tax in 2020

According to his tax returns, which were presented to a congressional committee and are expected to be released within a few days, former President Trump paid no income tax in his last year as president.

Although Trump collected almost $11 million in interest on investments in addition to his salary of almost $400,000, he paid no income taxes as he also reported a $16 million loss from his real estate deals. As a result of this loss, the former president was almost $5 million in the red for 2020.

• Put simply, he had no taxable income and paid no income tax.
• Tax experts found that Trump’s compensation payments were due to a massive loss of 105 million US dollars, which he reported in 2015 and which he spread out over several years.
• Trump’s approach to paying taxes, which he has likened to a sport, along with accounting practices that exempt him from the tax burdens most Americans face, raise wider questions about tax legislation.

“These are issues that are much bigger than Donald Trump. Trump’s returns are likely similar to those of many other wealthy tax fraudsters — hundreds of partnership interests, highly questionable deductions, and debts that can be deferred to pay off tax liabilities,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Tobias Burns explains it here.

Also from CNNBreakingNews

• House of Representatives passes bill to require presidential tax audits after it was revealed that Trump evaded the audit

Amtrak is suspending some services due to a storm

Amtrak has suspended some of its train services until the end of the week as a massive winter storm hit the entire country.

In a news alert on Wednesday, Amtrak said that some Midwestern and interurban routes were suspended until Sunday.

• The railroad announced that a number of long-distance trips from Chicago and other Midwest hubs are being canceled: “These measures are being taken with great care and in consultation with state transportation agencies, guest railways, emergency managers and weather forecasters.”

According to the

• Washington Post also told railroad officials on Thursday that the Northeast Corridor, the country’s busiest rail line, will continue to run as planned unless continued weather conditions continue to deteriorate.

Amtrak’s delays are due to the fact that, according to the airline company FlightAware, more than 1,500 flights were canceled in the United States on Thursday due to the massive winter storm. Many airports in the Midwest have announced the cancellation of flights in the coming days.

Olafimihan Oshin from CNNBreakingNews has the latest information here.

VORERST KOSTENLOS

Bankman-Fried is released on $250 million bail and agrees to be detained at home

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried can be released on $250 million bail and placed in house custody while awaiting trial in a sprawling fraud case, a New York judge ruled on Thursday.

At the request of prosecutors, Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Gabriel Gorenstein agreed to the bond price and said Bankman-Fried could live at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, before the trial, according to The Associated Press.

Bankman-Fried, 30, was expected to be released on Thursday. As part of the deal, he will be wearing an electronic surveillance bracelet.

Brad Dress from CNNBreakingNews has more here.

Good to know

Animal rescuers have asked the public to consider adopting a pet to alleviate the ongoing national shelter crisis.

Other things we’re keeping an eye on:

• The Senate Finance Committee is investigating whether eight automakers use materials derived from forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region in their supply chains.
• A group of House Republicans threatening to block the priorities of Republican senators, who are voting for the $1.7 trillion omnibus financing bill, has grown to 31.

Elon

• Musk has announced on Twitter that the platform will introduce a “number of views” feature that allows users to see how many people have viewed their tweet.

That’s it for today. Thank you so much for reading. Check out CNNBreakingNews’ finance page for the latest news and coverage. I’ll see you tomorrow.