First Time since 2009: House Passes All Funding Bills in Regular Order

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By Rich Mitchell

The U.S. House of Representatives, under the leadership of House Speaker Paul Ryan, has passed all twelve appropriations bills through regular order but whether it passes the Senate in time to avoid another craptastic omnibus bill remains to be seen.

“This is a big day in the House of Representatives,” said Speaker Ryan in a press conference Thursday. “Today, the people’s house passed all 12 funding bills on time.”

This is the first time since 2009 that the House has managed to pass all of its funding measures before the deadline but the Senate is likely to present a problem. With only 52 Republicans, Democrats will likely oppose the reduction in spending to the EPA and IRS – two of their pet agencies – and the denial of funding to Planned Parenthood.

The measure passed by a 211-198 vote largely along party lines with only one Democrat approving. It provides $658 billion for defense, $44 billion for Homeland Security, and $1.6 billion for the southern border wall.

“We achieved conservative victories for the president’s agenda,” Ryan told reporters. “We raised the pay for service men and woman, we strengthened our border protection, we defunded Planned Parenthood, and we used our majority to get this done.”

The House appropriations bill cuts the EPA’s funding by $534 million and prevents the IRS from enforcing the individual insurance mandate the requires Americans to buy health care insurance or pay a penalty.

“Our funding legislation forces the government to do what it ought to do and to stop doing what it shouldn’t do,” Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said in a statement, praising it for “strengthening our national defense, veterans’ programs, and border security,” and “cutting abusive Washington agencies like the IRS and the EPA.”

Whether the Senate uses reconciliation to force a 50-vote threshold or not is yet to be seen. Hopefully, Leader McConnell will finally decide to lead.

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