Biden signs $1.5 trillion spending bill, including $13.6 billion in Ukraine aid

March 15 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a $1.5 trillion bill funding the federal government through september and providing billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine.

In remarks during the signing at the Indian Treaty Room of the White House, Biden highlighted the $13.6 billion to fund defensive military equipment and training in Ukraine and aid for Ukrainian refugees included in the bill as the nation seeks to fend off an invasion by neighboring Russia.

"With this new security funding and the drawdown authorities in this bill, we're moving further to augment support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country," Biden said.

The legislation, which spans more than 2,700 pages also includes funding to keep the federal government running through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30 after Congress passed stopgap bills to avoid a shutdown in the preceding months.

Biden on Tuesday also touted that the bill includes funding for law enforcement programs and opioid response, as well as a provision to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

"It sends a clear message to the American people that we are investing in safety, health and the future of Americans," said Biden.

Absent from the legislation, however, was $15.6 billion in supplemental COVID-19 relief funding.

The funding was stripped from the bill last week amid opposition to a provision that would use money from states that did not make use of funding provided to them under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to offset the cost.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had pledged a separate bill to provide the pandemic relief funds, but the prospects of such a bill were uncertain amid potential opposition from Senate Republicans.