Article snippet: Congress is on the verge of passing a $1.3 trillion omnibus that would fund the government through September and provide the biggest federal spending increase in years. The bill is loaded with provisions given its likely standing as the last legislative train leaving the station before the midterms, and members have been scrambling to compete for a slice of the funding pie. Here are the winners and losers of the spending bill fight. WINNERS Defense hawks The bill is a victory for defense hawks who have balked at the series of stopgap funding bills this year that kept the Pentagon’s spending reined in. The new bill gives the Department of Defense a $61 billion increase, allowing it to increase troop levels and upgrade its weapons system. Troops will get a 2.4 percent pay raise, which would be the largest increase in nearly a decade. Sen. MORE (D-N.Y.) The bill provides a significant boost to domestic spending, as Schumer, House Minority Leader MORE (Calif.) and other Democrats in both chambers had leverage with Republicans needing their votes. But Schumer also secured a win in the form of money for the Gateway project, a multibillion-dollar rail reconstruction effort in the New York metro region. The fight over Gateway pitted two New Yorkers against one another in Schumer and MORE, who threatened to veto legislation if it included the $900 million that was initially slated for the program. Leaders came to a compromise agreement that would allow the project to ge... Link to the full article to read more