An omnibus bill is a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. It is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a legislature but packages together several measures into one or combines diverse subjects. Omnibus bills are derived from Latin and mean "to, for, by, with or from everything". Because of their large size and scope, omnibus bills limit opportunities for debate and scrutiny. Omnibus bills have sometimes been used to pass controversial amendments, which is why some consider them to be anti-democratic. In the United States, omnibus bills are sometimes known as "Big Ugly" bills.
Omnibus bills can be used to package many smaller ordinary appropriations bills into one larger single bill that can be passed with only one vote. For example, an omnibus spending bill in the United States can package together the budgets of all departments in one year. Often, the smaller bills are heard in committee and then laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill rather than passing each bill separately.
Omnibus bills can also be used to "veto-proof" items, by including measures that the president is expected to veto if they were submitted for signature on their own, but who is willing or pressured into signing an omnibus bill that includes those measures. However, omnibus bills are often criticized for being full of pork (unnecessary/wasteful spending that pleases constituents or special interest groups) and for stretching to more than 1,000 pages.
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 omnibus appropriations bill in the United States, for example, sets appropriations levels and allocations for the remainder of the 2023 fiscal year. It includes $1.646 trillion of non-emergency budget authority for FY 2023 – a $134 billion or 9 percent increase over FY 2022 levels. The FY 2023 omnibus is split between $858 billion for defense and $787 billion for nondefense discretionary programs. Each of the 12 appropriations bills included within the omnibus increase spending by amounts ranging from 1.4 percent for the Agriculture bill to 20.9 percent for the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill.
