Congress Passes Spending Bill to Keep Government Running Through Dec. 9
September 28 2016 - 10:43PM
Dow Jones News
By Kristina Peterson and Siobhan Hughes
WASHINGTON -- Congress avoided a partial government shutdown at
week's end after both chambers passed a short-term spending bill
that would keep the government running through early December.
A weekslong partisan impasse over the bill broke when lawmakers
agreed to provide federal assistance for residents of Flint, Mich.,
in separate legislation this year. That deal quickly paved the way
for the Senate to pass a short-term spending bill, also known as a
continuing resolution, that will keep the government funded through
Dec. 9.
The government's current funding had been due to expire at
midnight EDT on Friday.
The spending bill cleared the House in a 342-85 vote on
Wednesday night. President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into
law before Friday.
The agreement to include Flint aid in a separate bill
authorizing a range of water projects mitigated most Democrats'
concerns that Congress would do nothing this year to help the
city's residents, whose drinking water became contaminated with
lead in 2014. Democrats had initially rejected the short-term
spending bill because it includes flood relief for certain states
but no aid for Flint.
House leaders agreed late Tuesday night to vote on an amendment
to a water-resources bill, which passed the House on Wednesday
evening, that would authorize $170 million to repair Flint's water
infrastructure.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said on the Senate
floor Wednesday that he could now give Flint residents "the
assurance that they're going to get some help."
The Senate water bill, passed earlier this month, already
includes Flint assistance that is structured differently. But
Democratic lawmakers and leadership aides said they were confident
that Flint residents would receive aid when lawmakers merge the
House and Senate versions of the water bill when Congress returns
to Washington after the November election.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Wednesday
that he has made clear to House leaders that he is "very serious
about defending the Senate position" in the lame-duck negotiations
and "ensuring that Flint funding remains in the final bill."
While some Democrats opposed the spending bill because it didn't
include immediate aid for Flint, most said they felt comfortable
with the two-bill solution. In the Senate, 12 Democrats and 14
Republicans voted against it.
"I could not support a government spending bill that will --
once again -- force the citizens of Flint to wait on the help they
so desperately need," said Sen. Gary Peters (D., Mich.)
But the White House backed the two-pronged approach to funding
the government and providing Flint aid.
"The president was pleased to see this new commitment from
Republicans to look out for those people in Flint that have had to
suffer the consequences of the problems of the water supply," White
House press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday.
"It's certainly the best path for Flint," said Rep. Dan Kildee
(D., Mich.), who put together the House amendment to the water bill
with Rep. John Moolenaar (R., Mich.), working with House Speaker
Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D.,
Calif.) and Mr. McConnell late Tuesday.
Michigan Republicans helped persuade Mr. Ryan and other GOP
lawmakers that the Flint crisis was more than just a local issue
and deserved federal assistance. A panel appointed by the Michigan
governor found that the governor and state officials were primarily
accountable for the water contamination, but that the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency should have intervened in the
crisis sooner.
"We need to make this right because the federal government,
along with state and local government, made serious mistakes," Mr.
Moolenaar said.
The spending bill also includes $500 million for disaster
recovery in Louisiana and other states, and $1.1 billion in funding
to combat the Zika virus, which is attached to the fiscal year 2017
military construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill, also
included in the package.
That spending bill includes a measure from Sen. Patty Murray
(D., Wash.) that would allow the VA for the next two years to use
existing funds to cover the costs of assisted reproductive
technology, of which in vitro fertilization is the most common, for
veterans with service-connected injuries that prevent them from
having children naturally. The VA has been banned from covering the
costs of IVF since the early 1990s.
Some House Democrats opposed the spending bill, since it doesn't
provide immediate help to Flint residents. Democrats were also
unhappy that they weren't able to remove language from the spending
bill that prevents the Securities and Exchange Commission from
working on a rule that would require publicly traded companies to
disclose political contributions.
The spending bill was opposed by some conservative House
Republicans, who had hoped to extend its duration into 2017 and
avoid setting up passage of a sweeping, year-end spending bill in
December.
Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com and
Siobhan Hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 28, 2016 22:28 ET (02:28 GMT)
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