Omnibus bill

An omnibus bill packages multiple subjects or several full appropriations bills into one huge piece of legislation. The word comes from the Latin for "for all." A smaller bundle of a few appropriations bills is sometimes called a "minibus."

Omnibus packages usually appear when Congress has missed its deadlines and a continuing resolution is about to run out. Leaders negotiate the text in private and release it shortly before a vote, which can mean thousands of pages with limited time to read them. They often carry unrelated policy items, because a must-pass bill is a vehicle for provisions that would not pass alone.

Critics, including many conservatives, say omnibus bills dodge scrutiny, hide spending and force members into a take-it-or-leave-it choice under threat of a government shutdown. Defenders say they help finish government funding when divided government makes individual bills hard to pass. Some state constitutions have a single-subject rule that bars such bills, but Congress has no equivalent requirement. Proposals to return to regular order by considering each appropriations bill separately aim to reduce reliance on them.