The U.S. House voted to pass the $1.1. trillion omnibus federal spending bill, popularly dubbed the "CRomnibus," on Thursday by a narrow margin, 219-206, with the Florida delegation breaking along unusual lines.
While 162 Republicans backed the measure, 67 of them voted against it. Democrats mostly stood against it with 139 opposing it while 57 supported the measure. President Barack Obama and U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, supported the bill but some liberals balked due to concerns that the measure undermined the Dodd-Frank financial regulations, while some conservatives objected due to the bill doing little to defund Obamas executive action giving 5 million illegals extended visas and a path to citizenship.
The bill funds the federal government until Sept. 30, 2015, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security which is funded until Feb. 27, giving conservatives another chance to hit Obamas immigration action with a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.
The Florida delegation broke on very unusual lines: 14-13. Florida Republicans U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Ander Crenshaw, Mario Diaz-Balart, David Jolly, John Mica, Rich Nugent, Tom Rooney, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Dennis Ross, Steve Southerland and Ted Yoho backed the measure. They were joined by Florida Democrats Patrick Murphy and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The Democratic leadership was divided on the measure with U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., opposing it but Wasserman Schultz joining U.S. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., in supporting it.
Standing against the measure were Florida Republicans U.S. Reps. Curt Clawson,Ron DeSantis, Jeff Miller, Bill Posey and Dan Webster as did Florida Democrats U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown, Kathy Castor, Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel, Joe Garcia, Alan Grayson, Alcee Hastings and Frederica Wilson.
Explaining his support for the bill, Bilirakis blamed the Senate, in its final days of Democratic control, for the rushed bill.
Earlier this Congress, the House of Representatives passed seven different appropriations bills to fund different portions of the government, Bilirakis said on Thursday. Unfortunately, the Harry Reid-led Senate, in typical fashion, refused to consider any appropriations bills. Because of the Senates irresponsible refusal to act in good faith, the House was once again, and hopefully for the last time, forced to consider an unwieldy 1,600-plus page omnibus bill in a few short days. This is not how government should be funded ever.
Bilirakis admitted the bill contained many provisions ... that are difficult to swallow but insisted it did contain the fruit of some conservative principles.
Our battle to limit the scope of government, while keeping spending within discretionary spending cap limits that have lowered the deficit four years in a row, provided some notable high points in the otherwise disappointing bill, Bilirakis said.
Bilirakis praised the measure for increasing VA funding by $1.8 billion and committing more to combat Social Security fraud and promised that defunding Obamas immigration action will be a priority when the new Congress convenes next month.
Yoho had led the charge earlier this month in pushing a bill to stop Obamas action on immigration but voted for the omnibus bill on Thursday. The North Florida Republican said the bill was flawed but lowered spending while keeping the government afloat.
When I was elected, I told my constituents that I would vote not on what was politically popular, but on principle, Yoho said. The bill today is far from perfect. But as with any large spending bill, there are things that you want to fund and there are things that you dont. Funding our troops, veterans services, Social Security, and ensuring economic stability for our small businesses is the right thing to do.
I do not agree with the presidents executive order, which is why I introduced and the House passed legislation to stop it, Yoho added. I also joined my colleagues in offering an amendment to this spending bill that would guarantee that no funds could be used for his illegal amnesty. Im disappointed that the amendment was not accepted, but Im happy that the bill only temporarily funds the Department of Homeland Security until Feb. 27, 2015, when the presidents executive order will go into effect. This will enable us to add the proper limits when we have control of the Senate in January. Additionally, this legislation contains no new funding for Obamacare. For President Obama to have to sign that into law is a win in itself.
While Yoho was insisting the omnibus bill helped curb Obamas agenda, Wasserman Schultz said the Democrats helped limit Republican policy in it.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I know that House and Senate appropriators worked hard on a spending package to fund our government for the rest of the fiscal year, Wasserman Schultz said. As in any difficult compromise, the parties involved will find some items hard to accept, but I am proud of Democratic efforts to keep dozens of additional extreme GOP measures out of this bill. Faced with the alternative of a government shutdown and the reality of a Republican majority in the next Congress, I voted to ensure that the values of my constituents are more fully reflected in this budget that passed with Democratic input."
DeSantis, on the other hand, insisted the bill did nothing to advance conservative principles, especially Obamas immigration action.
This 1,600 page, $1.1 trillion spending bill was cobbled together behind closed doors and dumped on the American people less than 48 hours prior to the vote, DeSantis insisted. Passing the bill to find out what is in the bill is not what the American people voted for in November. This so-called CRomnibus puts the interests of Washington ahead of the interests of taxpayers, exceeds the statutory spending caps by using budget gimmicks, and fails to check the presidents executive overreach on illegal immigration. After winning a historic victory just five weeks ago, the CRomnibus effectively cedes the purse power that a short-term funding bill would have enabled the new GOP Congress to exercise to protect taxpayers and rein in the Obama administration.
DeSantis called for the House to pass a short-term consulting resolution and tackle a longer-term solution in January when the GOP will control both chambers.
Deutch took to the House floor on Thursday, ripping the bill for not doing enough on campaign finance reform and limiting student loans.
Tonight, somewhere in America, there is a mother faced with a choice between staying home to care for a sick child and possibly losing her job, Deutch insisted after the vote. Down the street is a fast food worker who once again will not be able to leave many gifts under the family Christmas tree. And across town there is a young college graduate struggling to keep up with his student loan payments. What these families all share is actually what they all lack: a seat at the negotiating table in the back rooms of Congress where this $1.1 trillion spending deal was struck. Could this bill have been worse? Absolutely. I understand the need for compromise. I want compromise. But a bill that contains provisions written for and by Wall Street while millions of homeowners still remain underwater on their mortgages is no compromise. A bill that slashes Pell Grant funding and hands over that money to student loan debt collectors is no compromise. A bill that gives millionaires and billionaires even more power in our political process and fails to give minimum-wage workers a long overdue raise is no compromise. I hope my colleagues in the Senate reject this plan.
The measure now heads to the Senate for a final vote.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
