Posted on 01/15/2014 4:37:05 PM PST by Sub-Driver
January 15, 2014, 04:19 pm House easily passes $1T omnibus spending bill with 359-67 vote
By Pete Kasperowicz and Erik Wasson Anne Wernikoff and Greg Nash
The House on Wednesday easily approved a $1 trillion omnibus spending bill would fund the government for the rest of fiscal 2014 and let Congress avoid the risk of a shutdown until the end of September.
Members voted 359-67 to pass the bill, which was opposed by 64 Republicans and three Democrats.
The three Democrats who voted "no" were Reps. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), Rush Holt (N.J.), and Mike McIntyre (N.C.), a centrist Democrat who is retiring at the end of this Congress.
Some Republicans were known to oppose the bill, given their opposition to restoring some of the sequester cuts that were agreed to as part of the budget deal struck late last year. The bill allows discretionary spending to increase by $45 billion compared to the sequester.
"True, it adheres to the budget passed in December, but that's nothing to brag about," Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) said of the spending bill. "That budget destroyed the only meaningful constraint on federal spending that we had."
McClintock and others were also upset at the rushed process that required the House to pass the bill after having just a few days to examine its 1,500 pages.
While most Democrats clearly preferred funding the government over risking a government shutdown, they also complained that the process needs to improve.
"This can be described very charitably as a mixed bag," said Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.). "This is a 1,500-page bill that nobody has actually read."
Yet the bill won even more support than the two-year budget deal it was based on. Ninety-four House members had voted against the budget deal.
Even conservative budget hawk Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), who had signaled he would vote against any bill based on the new budget, voted "yes."
“When I ran for office in 2010, I told people that I wanted to roll back spending in Washington to 2008 [pre-stimulus] levels," he said. "I even put that on my flyers. Today I had the chance to do what I told people I would do if they elected me."
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said he was surprised by the strong vote
“I'm almost giddy,” he said. “I think it's a really good demonstration of trying to work across the aisle and across the dome.”
Rogers said the vote bodes well for completing all 12 appropriations bills on time this year — something that has not been done since 1994 — and for other bipartisan accords.
“I really think this is setting a tone that will last,” he said. The chairman then carried a list of those who opposed his bill back to his office. “I like to keep track of who is for what,” he said.
Rogers and others have been hopeful that passing the 2014 bill will clear the decks and allow them to go back to regular order as they consider funding bills for 2015. They also hope it will prevent repeats of last fall's government shutdown.
"The December budget agreement and this bill sets us on a path to fulfilling our basic responsibility of the annual spending bills," said ranking committee member Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.).
The debate was left to Lowey and Rogers — top House leaders of both parties did not appear at all. GOP leaders recommended a "yes" vote, while Democratic leaders made no recommendation.
The White House backed the bill, which the Senate is expected to take up later this week.
The bill is the first fully detailed spending plan for the government since the 2012 omnibus passed in late 2011. The government has been running on a series of stopgap measures since then.
The legislation makes several policy compromises, and Rogers cited some that Republicans can point to as victories.
"Throughout the bill, we've maintained pro-life policies, and protected Second Amendment rights," he said. "We've made sure that this bill provides no new funding for ObamaCare, and have even cut existing ObamaCare funds to the tune of over $1 billion."
Rogers was referring to a $1 billion cut to a preventive healthcare fund under ObamaCare, which Republicans have called a "slush” fund.
The GOP can also point to language that gives Wall Street regulators less money than they wanted to enforce the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, and that spared readiness and major weapons systems from Pentagon cuts.
Democratic supporters touted large increases for social programs like Head Start and for medical research by the National Institutes of Health, as well as a 1-percent pay increase for blue-collar federal workers. Democrats were able to ensure that ObamaCare and the Dodd-Frank financial reform law were not entirely defunded, and that most of 134 policy riders House Republicans sought were removed from the bill.
Elsewhere, the bill cuts the budget of the Internal Revenue Service, a GOP target after last year's revelations that the IRS made it harder for conservative groups to win tax-exempt status.
Conservatives also pointed to a number of riders that were included in the bill, such as key coal-industry items inserted by Rogers. One would allow the Export-Import Bank to finance coal projects abroad.
The bill pays $174,000 to the widow of Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.), who died late last year. Despite some criticism, Congress continues to make these "death gratuity" payments to the families of members who die in office.
House passage means it's up to the Senate to approve the bill by Saturday, when government funding expires. Passage is expected by Friday.
While some Senate Republicans will oppose it, Senate Appropriations ranking member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) on Wednesday predicted the bill would pass the Senate easily.
"We had a caucus Monday night ... and I believe we will have a healthy number," he said.
—This story was updated at 4:48 p.m.
They’ll keep doing it until WE THE PEOPLE THROW THE BUMS OUT. It’s the only language politicians care about.
Remember in November.
Who’s writing this stuff, the Annunaki?
The commie ‘RATS and RINOs on Capitol Hill are spending your grandchildren’s inheritance. Barry thought he “inherited” a “mess”. Just think of the mess he’s leaving for our grandchildren and their grandchildren.
They all seem pretty cozy with each other.
Well, it sure isn’t those elected who are writing this stuff. Their job is to stand in front of cameras, hand out press releases and draw a paycheck.
I wonder what ever happened to that nice conservative guy who was running for vice president on the republican ticket in 2012....
Can’t recall his name right now but he sure talked a good story.
Then - POOF! —— He just disappeared.
67 votes
wow
Uniparty is correct
It’s a lesser evil. That’s a good thing. I learned lesser evils like this are good. I don’t know why people are upset.
Gee another shutdown battle...and right before an election that could see dems swept out of office.
Odd that.
” I learned lesser evils like this are good.”
You’re as much the problem as the bastards that voted for it!
You failed to detect the sarcasm.
Let’s go back to obama’s way. Forget this budget nonsense. Just spend like hell and let’s not worry about it. Forget pretending that Congress is actually concerned about the future.
So, that means no one in Congress wrote it. We already knew that. A bunch of lefty interns wrote it.
Incredibly depressing. Beltway disease is all consuming.
“This is a 1,500-page bill that nobody has actually read.”
Remember when that sentence would have likely been followed by “...Said no American ever?”
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