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House GOP $95B Iran War Plan Advances 07/17 06:13
Republicans on the House Budget Committee advanced a $95 billion package
Thursday for the Iran war, farm aid and President Donald Trump's push for
strict new voter ID requirements, moving forward on a party-line vote despite
trouble in the full House -- and the Senate.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans on the House Budget Committee advanced a $95
billion package Thursday for the Iran war, farm aid and President Donald
Trump's push for strict new voter ID requirements, moving forward on a
party-line vote despite trouble in the full House -- and the Senate.
Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington framed the proposal as one last
push to deliver for voters ahead of the midterm elections that will determine
control of Congress. It advanced on a vote of 20-14.
"We are rallying to finish what we started when the American people sent us
here," said Arrington, R-Texas.
With Iran war funding making up the bulk of the package, some $60 billion,
Arrington acknowledged that people can debate "why we're there" in the overseas
conflict. But he said the money is needed for basic supplies -- "just the
bombs, bullets and battlefield readiness for our men and women in uniform to
finish the fight successfully and return home safely -- that's it."
The resolution, which sets out instructions for the various congressional
committees to draw up proposals, also calls for $13 billion for Intelligence,
$12 billion for Agriculture, and $10 billion for Administration, which handles
voting and elections.
Speaker Johnson goes it alone, trying to push past Democrats
The proposal is the third budget reconciliation package Republicans in
control of Congress have put forward this session to steamroll Trump's
priorities past Democratic objections using a legislative procedure that allows
for simple majority votes for passage.
It's the same process House Speaker Mike Johnson used to pass Trump's big
tax cuts bill last year and to advance Homeland Security money after Democrats
refused to fund the department following the deaths of Americans protesting
Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions earlier this year.
Johnson is pushing the effort almost single-handedly, without full backing
from his slim House Republican majority or the Senate. He held lengthy meetings
with Trump this week at the White House and hosted a private session for
Republicans at the president's Camp David retreat to hash out details.
But the 47-page package remains a long-shot effort -- too meager for some,
too costly for others -- ahead of voting in the full House expected next week.
Key Republican Rep. Chip Roy, an influential member of the Freedom Caucus
who has expressed reservations about the package, did not vote at the Budget
Committee session, as his home state of Texas deals with flooding.
Democrats argue Americans are paying for Trump's plans
Democrats are ready to vote against the proposal, as they did Thursday
during committee action.
Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democrat on the Budget
Committee, said the document, some 6,500 words, never once mentions the issue
that's top of mind for many Americans: affordability.
"People know this is a failed presidency, and a failed Republican majority,"
Boyle said.
Democrats offered more than a dozen amendments to the package during the
hourslong Budget Committee session and raised questions about how the new
spending will ultimately be paid for -- either via budget cuts to other
programs or by piling onto the nation's debt.
Boyle offered an amendment to reverse healthcare cuts from the Republicans'
big tax breaks bill. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., sought to reinstate funding for
food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Rep. Scott
Peters, D-Calif., suggested funding for immigration enforcement at Department
of Homeland Security could be used to offset costs elsewhere.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, blamed the high costs of living on the Iran war
and said every time Americans open their refrigerators or go to the gas pump
they are "paying for a war that should never have been started."
Senate pans House plan, leaving next steps uncertain
Next steps are highly volatile, as the House holds a rare Saturday pro forma
session, which is a largely administrative meeting that will allow the
resolution to be filed in time for consideration next week.
Johnson can only lose a few detractors on his side of the aisle as he relies
on Republicans only, without Democrats, for passage.
But the resolution would also have to be agreed on by the Senate, and
Republican senators have largely panned the House effort, waiting to see if
Johnson can heave it to passage.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said senators have "a lot of questions"
about it -- from defense hawks concerned about the military to deficit hawks
who want to offset costs.
"It's a very uneven path," he said. "We'll see what the House can execute
on," he said, but "I can't make any guarantees over here."
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who is expected to take over the Senate Budget
Committee after the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, has been a leading
budget hawk concerned about the nation's rising deficits.
The House plans to have its committees work on bill text over the August
recess and bring the whole package back to the floor for a final vote in the
fall.
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