House concurs with Senate: “Let’s keep this check-kiting scheme
going!”
Source: The Hill
"The House on Thursday averted a looming government shutdown by
approving legislation that will keep the government funded through
the end of the fiscal year. The $984 billion spending bill passed by
a vote of 318 to 109. The bill cleared the Senate on Wednesday on a
vote of 73 to 26 and now heads to President Obama’s desk."
[editor's note: The term "shutdown" doesn't really mean "shutdown,"
of course. It means "we only keep what we broadly construe to be
'essential' services. My question: If it wasn't "essential" why was
it in the budget in the first place? - TLK] (03/21/13)
House averts government shutdown
By Erik Wasson and Pete Kasperowicz
The House on Thursday averted a looming government shutdown by
approving legislation that will keep the government funded through
the end of the fiscal year.
The $984 billion spending bill passed by a vote of 318 to 109.
The bill cleared the Senate on Wednesday on a vote of 73 to 26 and now
heads to President Obama’s desk.
"Passing this measure allows us to keep our focus where it belongs:
replacing the president’s sequester with smarter cuts that help balance
the budget, fixing our broken tax code to create jobs and increase
wages, protecting priorities like Medicare, and expanding opportunity
for all Americans," Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said.
The legislation reflects a carefully coordinated compromise between
appropriators in the House and Senate and their leaders, all of whom
wanted to prevent a government shutdown. The bill currently providing
funding for the government would have expired on March 28.
"This legislation provides funding for essential federal programs and
services, it maintains our national security, and takes a potential
government shutdown off the table," Appropriations Committee Chairman
Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said.
Majorities in both parties favored the bill, though it was more
popular with Republicans than Democrats. The GOP vote was 203-27, with
two members not voting, while the Democratic vote was 115-82, with three
members not voting.
Committee members were given latitude by House GOP leaders to work
out a deal, so long as it did not reverse the $85 billion in
sequestration cuts that went into effect on March 1.
Republicans and Democrats are still at loggerheads over how to
replace those cuts, with the White House insisting that new tax revenue
should be included and the GOP arguing that no new taxes should replace
the spending cuts.
The government-funding measure, which lasts through Sept. 30,
contains full, detailed appropriations bills covering the departments of
Defense; Commerce; Justice; Veterans Affairs; Agriculture and Homeland
Security, as well as for science agencies like NASA and military
construction activities.
The rest of the federal government will operate on autopilot, and the
bill does not include new funding to implement President Obama’s
healthcare and financial reform laws.
Despite this, the bill got widespread support from Democrats, some of
whom said they wanted to avoid a shutdown.
“Like any compromise, this measure is far from perfect,” said
Appropriations Committee ranking member Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), who voted
for the bill. “Nevertheless, a government shutdown could wreak havoc on
our already fragile economic recovery and must be prevented.”
Only two House appropriations subcommittee chairmen voted against the
spending bill: Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), the labor, health chairman
who may run for Senate against naysayer Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), and
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), the interior, environment chairman.
Some Democrats protested the bill during debate. Rep. Rosa DeLauro
(D-Conn.) said she opposes it because it maintains the sequester, and
even Lowey said the sequester is still a problem.
“I remain deeply dissatisfied that sequestration is not addressed,
and will, and will slash the very priorities I believe all of us came
here to fulfill,” Lowey said. “These $68 billion in detrimental cuts
will diminish services Americans depend on, job growth and our overall
economy.”
The bill moves some money around within agency budgets to try to help
them better deal with sequestration.
The original House bill ensured the Defense Department’s operations
budget received $11 billion more to ensure the Pentagon remains
battle-ready.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)
and ranking member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) negotiated dozens of smaller
changes to the measure, none of which were objectionable to House GOP
leaders.
The full Senate also adopted some amendments shifting money around,
including one by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to
prevent furloughs of meat inspectors.
It rejected others, like one by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to keep
White House tours running, and never considered others, such as one by
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) to keep air traffic control towers open.
The Transportation Department opposed that amendment without
explanation, Moran said. He alleged that the White House wants to keep
the pain of sequestration in place to get its way on taxes.
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