Omnibus bill is one that contains several separate but related items. This is in contrast with a regular bill that typically will only address a single issue. The reason for the attempt to pass an omnibus bill is to pass a package of reforms on a particular issue, such as a spending omnibus bill. An omnibus bill can help to speed up the legislative process by avoiding multiple votes on fairly minor issues. If the issue is major, there might be other reasons for the pace of an omnibus bill, such as the need to enter into war.

Omnibus bills are not used to circumvent the normal Congressional processes, but they do accelerate the process. Members of Congress are not forced to consider each issue individually, as is normally the case. For example, with the gun control proposals of the past week, there were several different bills on the table,...
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