On Wednesday, the U.S. House passed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill, avoiding a federal shutdown and funding government operations through September even as Florida Republicans divided over the measure.
The House backed the bill on a 309-118 vote. Despite U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., speaking in favor of the bill, the bulk of the opposition came from the GOP as 103 Republicans joined by 15 Democrats voted against it. The bill adds more than $590 million to the defense budget but does not fund President Donald Trump’s wall on the border with Mexico even as it adds $1.5 billion for border security.
Sunshine State Republican U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Ron DeSantis, Matt Gaetz, Francis Rooney, Dan Webster and Ted Yoho voted against the bill but the rest of the Florida delegation voted for the proposal.
Florida Republicans who backed the proposal pointed to the increase in defense funding and allocating more than $60 million to fight citrus greening.
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., part of the Republican leadership as senior deputy majority whip, made the case for why he voted for the bill.
“The funding bill we passed today fulfills our promises to the American people to provide for a stronger, safer and more prosperous America,” Ross said. “As I have stated before, I was not voted into office to shut down the government. I was voted to be a voice for the hardworking people of Florida’s 15th Congressional District of Florida, and this bill holds true to that promise.
“It increases defense funding by more than $25 billion to rebuild and modernize our military,” Ross added. “This funding increase will help us defeat ISIS and strengthen our national security, and finally ends the cycle of holding military spending hostage. We live in a very unpredictable and dangerous time. Radical Islamic terrorists are in every area of the globe, seeking to carry out attacks on our people and our allies, and rogue nations like Iran and North Korea are threatening peace and stability. After recently speaking firsthand with members of the Florida National Guard stationed in Kuwait about the need for this critical funding and support, I am pleased to say we can finally make real, important strides to increase and improve our readiness, and provide our service members the tools and resources they need to confront the threats we face all around the world.
“Additionally, our selfless service members and their families sacrifice daily to defend our freedoms and protect our nation,” Ross continued. “This legislation fully funds the largest military pay raise in six years and reverses the Obama administration’s personnel cuts that are detrimental to our service members, their families and our national defense. We owe this to the brave men and women in uniform who put our lives before their own day-after-day.
“Through this bill, we have also increased critical border security funding by $1.5 billion,” Ross said. “This represents the largest border security spending increase in more than a decade. Illegal drugs, gangs and crime are flooding our borders. This will provide our immigration and border security agents the means to enforce our laws, halt the influx of crime, and deport illegal immigrants.
“Additionally, this bill does not contain a single dime to fund Planned Parenthood and was endorsed by the National Right to Life organization, which has awarded me a 100 percent rating for my consistent pro-life voting record. Through the commonly known Hyde Amendment, this bill further maintains important provisions to protect the sanctity of life and to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding abortions," Ross continued. “At the same time, we are investing in the most critical needs of our community, including assistance with disaster relief and support for our first responders. I am additionally proud to support this bill because it makes long-overdue reforms to our overreaching federal bureaucracy, gives parents more choices for their children’s education, and restricts new money for Obamacare and insurance company bailouts.
“Finally, this bill includes a much-needed increase in funding to combat citrus greening, which is decimating Florida’s citrus industry. Our citrus industry is not only one of our state’s greatest attributes, but also the livelihood to tens of thousands of Floridians, many of who live and work in District 15. I will continue fighting to ensure Florida citrus growers and producers have the funds necessary to remain the citrus capital of the world,” Ross concluded. “We have a long road ahead of us to undo the damage of the past eight years, but together with President Trump, we are fulfilling our promises to the American people. I am excited to keep this momentum going so we can next repeal and replace Obamacare, reform our tax code, and improve our nation’s infrastructure.”
U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., insisted conservatives should support the bill and noted that Trump backed it.
“I answered President Trump’s call to vote for this bill because it advances conservative priorities to strengthen our military, secure our border and shrink the federal government,” Dunn said. “My first priority is the safety of the American people. This legislation puts a much-needed down payment on rebuilding our military, and it gives our troops the largest pay raise in six years. The bill contains the largest border security funding increase in a decade, and it maintains all the critical pro-life protections that exist to prevent taxpayer funding of abortion.
“No bill is perfect, and this bill is far from it,” Dunn said. “But I am not willing to leave America’s troops and border patrol down range without the tools they need to do their jobs and come home to their families. Working with President Trump, we have taken important initial steps to strengthen our border, rebuild our military and shrink the federal government. There is much more to do, and that work has already begun. I will fight alongside the president to make America great again any day, and I believe him when he says this is the best deal he could negotiate today.”
Yoho called the bill irresponsible, insisting it continued to fund Planned Parenthood and would increase the national debt.
“Yet again, Congress is faced with a colossal ‘must pass’ omnibus spending bill to keep the government running for the remainder of fiscal year 2017,” Yoho said after voting against the bill. “While I am in full support of raising pay for our military men and women, our national defense, our veterans, and funding for NIH – to name a few - this is not a bill I could support. There is more bad than good in this one trillion dollar spending bill. It continues to funnel billions of dollars to unauthorized programs, allows taxpayer funds for Planned Parenthood, and it does nothing to address our out of control debt.
“People don’t seem to care or realize that our out of control national debt, will eventually consume every single dollar in the budget,” Yoho said. “Yet we still appropriate funds at the last minute and bring up these ridiculously large spending bills. At what point are we going to prioritize dealing with our twenty trillion dollar national debt?
“There is no reason both the House and Senate couldn’t finish each of the eleven remaining appropriations bills individually and avoid cramming them all together in the dead of night. Each bill should be thoroughly vetted and debated on the floor,” Yoho continued. “Omnibus spending bills do nothing but open up the appropriations process to frivolous spending. It is a shame that congress continues to spend people’s hardworking tax dollars in the way it does. The American people deserve better from their government.”
Bilirakis also said the bill’s impact on the national debt was why he voted against it.
“While there are some positive aspects of this bill, I cannot in good conscience support a spending plan that would bury future generations in an additional $249 billion in debt,” Bilirakis said. “My commitment to issues like strengthening our military, fighting the opioid crisis, and supporting medical research has not wavered. But we must work in a fiscally responsible manner.
“Our country faces an unsustainable national debt, and I believe the bill does not do enough to rein in spending or limit the size of government,” Bilirakis added. “I will continue to fight for common sense reforms in the best interest of the people of Florida’s 12th District.”
Every Democrat in the Florida delegation supported the bill even as they raised criticisms of it.
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., said the bill was a setback for Trump and noted that the bill continued to fund Planned Parenthood, disputing Ross’ take on it.
“President Trump’s cruel effort to slash essential government services was denied for the moment," Deutch said. “He failed to make taxpayers pay for his border wall, and he failed to defund Planned Parenthood and the care they provide to millions of Americans. The federal budget must reflect the values of the American people, and the American people do not want Congress to walk away from crucial scientific research or Meals on Wheels.
“Contrary to Trump’s economically destructive spending plan, Congress is sending an extra $2 billion to our national health centers to research diseases and develop cures,” Deutch added. “We’ve secured an additional $600 million to fight the opioid epidemic, a particularly devastating crisis in South Florida. We’ve restored year-round Pell Grants so that low-income college students can afford to attend classes during the summer. We will continue our proud tradition of aiding those in desperate need by sending emergency aid to famine-stricken regions of the world like South Sudan and Yemen. And Democrats on the Hill have rebuffed Republican attempts to gut the Environmental Protection Agency.
“This bill also includes $61 million to reimburse local law enforcement for security costs for President Trump’s frequent trips outside of Washington,” Deutch added. “As I’ve consistently said, the burden of covering President Trump’s visits to the private Mar-a-Lago country club will not fall on the taxpayers of Palm Beach County alone. Funding in this bill will ensure that our county can be reimbursed for the nearly $4 million in overtime costs during his golf trips to his private resort.
“This spending bill is far from perfect, but I voted for it because it includes crucial funding for many priorities that South Florida values, ” Deutch said.
Freshman U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, D-Fla., also took aim at Trump even as he supported the bill.
“Despite President’s Trump’s desire to play political games with our government, cooler heads have prevailed and we have passed legislation that will ensure our federal government is fully funded through the end of September,” Lawson said. “This final deal stands in stark contrast to President’s Trump’s initial draconian budget request that called for gutting billions from lifesaving medical research, paying to construct a border wall, defunding Planned Parenthood, and undermining the Affordable Care Act.
“What we passed is far better for the American people,” Lawson insisted. “We increased funding for the National Institutes of Health by $2 billion, so that vital medical research can continue. Democrats also fought to restore students’ access to year-round Pell Grants, secured funding to help stem the opioid epidemic, and secured $1.1 billion in disaster assistance for regions affected by storms and flooding, and we extended health insurance benefits for retiring mine workers. We also have more than $800 million going toward making our nation’s drinking water safe, and another $100 million going specifically to Flint, Michigan to upgrade their drinking water infrastructure. Another several million will go to our nation’s historically black colleges and universities.
“We will work to hold the Trump administration accountable for upholding their end of the agreement – such as fulfilling their pledge to continue payments critical to the success of Affordable Care Act exchanges,” Lawson concluded. “I’m proud that members of Congress were able to come together to do what’s right and make meaningful progress for the American people.”
