The House narrowly approved a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill late Thursday night with a vote of 219-206, avoiding another government shutdown by mere hours. The bill, which will now go to the Senate for consideration, includes funding for the entire government through Sept. 30, 2015, with the Department of Homeland Security being the lone exception; the bill funds DHS through Feb. 27, 2015. The package includes $554 billion for the Defense Department, including $64 billion in overseas contingency operations funds to combat the ISIS threat, train and equip Iraqi allies, and “to reinforce European countries facing Russian aggression,” according to the bill highlights. It also includes emergency funding “to address the domestic and international Ebola crisis,” according to a Dec. 11 House Appropriations Committee release. “This bill is the result of careful, responsible, line-by-line budget and policy decisions that have enormous impact on individuals, businesses, and communities across the country,” said HAC Chairman Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) in the release. “This bill invests in important and effective programs with the most benefit to the American people, including our national defense, while reducing spending in lower-priority or wasteful programs.”
The Islamic State’s Khorasan branch, responsible for the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the evacuation from Kabul, could develop the capacity to strike outside Afghanistan within “six to 12 months,” Undersecretary of Defense for policy Colin Kahl warned. Testifying to the Senate Armed Services Committee on…