The House of Representatives on Friday approved a package of four bills of $ 259.5 billion of spending bills for fiscal year 2021.
The package included invoices for state and foreign operations; farming; interior and environment; and military construction and veterans affairs.
The legislative package was approved in a vote of 224-189, largely partisan. Seven Democrats and the only independent House member joined Republicans to vote against the measure.
Lawmakers rejected the deep cuts proposed by President Trump
Donald John Trump Pelosi says Trump’s decision to reverse the fair housing rule is a “betrayal of our nation’s founding values.” Trump says he would consider pardons for those involved in the Mueller investigation. Fauci says he and his family have experienced “serious threats” during the pandemic. MORE to the Department of State and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The foreign operations bill provides billions in foreign assistance to countries like Israel, Egypt, and Ukraine and money for counter-narcotics operations in several Latin American countries.
The agriculture bill includes more than $ 1 billion to expand rural broadband, funds a large number of nutritional assistance programs, and would grant the Federal Drug Administration mandatory withdrawal authorization for prescription and over-the-counter medications.
The interior bill also funds arts and humanities programs and museums, including funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, which Trump sought to eliminate in his budget. It also funds the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The package touches on a variety of hot political topics.
He would secure funding from the World Health Organization, an agency Trump promised to cut ties and funding, blaming him for the spread of the coronavirus.
It would block the “Mexico City policy,” which prevents US funds from flowing to foreign aid and health organizations that support abortion rights.
It would block a controversial Trump administration rule that scientists and advocacy groups say would make it difficult for the EPA to use some commonly accepted forms of science in its regulatory process.
Ultimately, it would prevent Trump from using military construction funds to build his signature border wall, and he would refuse to fill out accounts he emptied to finance the wall using emergency powers.
Over the course of two days, the House of Representatives adopted amendments that would block Trump’s use of emergency authority to keep meat plants open as essential services during the pandemic, prohibiting government contracts with any of the companies Trump and avoid drilling at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
“This allocation package addresses urgent national priorities,” said the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Nita Lowey
Nita Sue LoweyHouse’s panel concludes lightning-fast assignments for 2021 How a progressive populist appears to have ousted Engel Progressive Mondaire Jones wins the New York primaries to replace Nita Lowey MORE (DN.Y.).
“I am proud that the package also includes strong emergency allocations to tackle the coronavirus and support economic recovery, with investments in critical infrastructure and coronavirus preparedness, response and relief at the national and global levels,” he said.
Rep. Kay Granger
Norvell (Kay) Kay GrangerHouse’s panel points to Trump’s war powers in spending the bill. (Texas), the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, praised the elements of the bill, but opposed the “poisoned pill” policy provisions on issues like immigration and abortion as well as well as significant increases in unofficial expenses.
“This bill supports veterans who have honorably served our country, diplomats who promote American business and our values around the world, farmers and ranchers who put food on our tables, and custodians of our parks and public lands that protect our citizens. treasures. Unfortunately, I cannot endorse this bill before us because it has some fatal flaws, “he said on the floor.
“First, there are many political provisions similar to partisan legislation that the majority have pushed through the House in recent months. And second, spending levels exceeded the amounts that Congress and the president agreed on last year.”
The package included about $ 40 billion of out-of-book spending that exceeded spending limits that Republicans and Democrats agreed to last summer, almost all under the guise of supplemental emergency spending. Democrats added about $ 250 billion in emergency expenses and additional additional expenses to the annual bills.
Next week, the House will take another package of seven spending bills, including the controversial national security bill, which deals with immigration and border security.
Democrats hoped to unify around that bill after it was shelved last year amid divisions within the party over immigration policy. Still, the two co-chairs of the Progressive Caucus of Congress and several other prominent progressives said the bill should have been scrapped, which could foreshadow drama in next week’s vote.
The only one of the 12 annual spending bills not considered on the floor is the legislature bill, which was also scrapped last year by disagreements over increased congressional pay.
The spending bills face an unlikely path to the president’s desk before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. Without funding bills or a continuing resolution, a provisional measure that extends current funding levels, the government would shut down.
The Republican-controlled upper house, which would likely cut much of the extra spending on House bills and the battle over policy provisions, is itself at odds over spending.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has not tabled a single spending bill for the year, and it seems unlikely that it will, as Democrats ask to include police reform and health measures COVID-19 in the bills. .
Republicans say Congress is addressing those issues in separate bills.
The confrontation has taken advantage of the possibilities of a continuous resolution to push the deadline beyond the November elections and enter the session of the lame, or possibly 2021, at which point the balance of power in Washington may have changed.
—Juliegrace Brufke contributed.
.
