NOTE: If the 'rule' had not passed, the Cromnibus bill could not have been taken up.
The House barely passed a rule today to allow the cromnibus bill to come to the floor. The final vote was 214-212 in favor of rule. An actual vote on the bill is expected after 2pm according to Chad Pergram from Fox News.
The massive $1 trillion "CRomnibus" spending bill squeaked through the U.S. House of Representatives with a 219-206 vote on Thursday night.
Among those voting against the unpopular spending bill were 67 Republicans, including conservative favorites like Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Dave Brat (R-Va.)
That means more Democrats than Republicans opposed the spending bill as only 57 Democrats voted for it.
There's $948 million for the Department of Health and Human Service's unaccompanied children program -- an $80 million increase. The program provides health and education services to the young migrants. The department also gets $14 million to help school districts absorbing new immigrant students. And the State Department would get $260 million to assist Central American countries from where of the immigrant children are coming.
This item has been updated and revised.
The $1.01 trillion spending bill unveiled late Tuesday will keep most of the federal government funded through next September -- and it's packed with hundreds of policy instructions, known on Capitol Hill as "riders," that will upset or excite Democrats, Republicans and various special interest groups.
So, what's in the bill? We've sifted through the legislation, consulted supporting documents from Democratic and Republican aides, and called out some of the more notable and controversial elements below. (If you want to review detailed reports on all 12 parts of the spending bill, click here.)
ABORTION:
The bill once again bans using federal funding to perform most abortions; blocks the use of local and federal funding for abortions in the District of Columbia; and blocks the use of federal dollars for abortions for federal prisoners. Republicans say that there's also new language directing the secretary of health and human services to ensure that consumers shopping for health-care coverage on the federal exchange can tell whether a plan covers abortion services.
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT:
The law is still funded, but there's no new money for it. There's also no new ACA-related funding for the Internal Revenue Service and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the two agencies most responsible for implementing the law. The bill also would cut the budget of the Independent Payment Advisory Board -- what Republicans have called "the death panel" -- by $10 million.
AFGHANISTAN:
Congress withholds funding for the Afghan government "until certain conditions are met," including implementing the bilateral security agreement reached with the United States.
AMTRAK:
The nation's rail passenger service earns $1.39 billion, the same amount it currently receives. The rail service carries passengers through 46 states and hit an all-time high of 31.6 million passengers during the last fiscal year, according to Democratic aides.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE:
The bill would dramatically expand the amount of money that wealthy political donors could inject into the national parties, drastically undercutting the 2002 landmark McCain-Feingold campaign finance overhaul. Bottom line: A donor who gave the maximum $32,400 this year to the Democratic National Committee or Republican National Committee would be able to donate another $291,600 on top of that to the party's additional arms -- a total of $324,000, ten times the current limit. Read more on this here.
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL:
The agency would get more than $6.9 billion, an increase of about $42.7 million. The nation's leading disease-fighters also get $30 million to help fight Ebola (see below).
CLEAN WATER ACT:
In a win for Republicans, the spending bill blocks the Environmental Protection Agency from applying the law to certain farm ponds and irrigation ditches -- a move that GOP aides said would benefit farmers.
DODD-FRANK:
Democrats agreed to make some of the biggest changes yet to the 2010 financial regulatory reforms. In a deal sought by Republicans, the bill would reverse Dodd-Frank requirements that banks "push out" some of derivatives trading into separate entities not backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporations. Ever since being enacted, banks have been pushing to reverse the change. Now, the rules would go back to the way they used to be. But in exchange, Democrats say they secured more money for the enforcement budgets at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Boehner's Spending Deals Have Increased Debt $3.8T in 3.8 Years December 11, 2014 - 11:39 AM
(CNSNews.com) - The federal debt has increased by $3.8 trillion in the 3.8 years that have passed since House Speaker John Boehner cut his first spending deal with Senate Democrats and President Obama.
That works out to $32,938.38 for every household in the United States-including those taking federal welfare benefits-and $42,783.20 for every full-time year-round private-sector worker in the United States.
In fact, the $42,783.20 that the federal government has borrowed per full-time year-round private-sector worker since Boehner cut his first federal spending deal exceeds the $41,916 that according to the Census Bureau was median annual earnings of full-time year-round private-sector wage and salary workers in 2013.
Boehner became speaker in January 2011, after the Republicans won a majority of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections of 2010. At that time, the government was operating under a continuing resolution that expired on March 4, 2011. Before that CR expired, Boehner cut a spending deal to fund the government after it expired.
Ever since March 4, 2011, all federal spending has been authorized by laws passed by the Republican-controlled House that Boehner leads.
At the close of business on March 4, 2011, the federal debt was $14,182,627,184,881.03, according to the Treasury. At the close of business on Dec. 9, 2014, it was $17,997,912,502,715.74.
From March 11, 2011 through Dec. 9, 2014, the debt increased $3,815,285,317,834.71.
1,376 days-or 3.8 years-transpired between March 4, 2011 and Dec. 11, 2014.
Obama Bails Out Boehner On Spending Bill Conn Carroll | Dec 11, 2014
The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy today in favor of the 1,600 omnibus spending bill that funds the entire federal government through September except for the Department of Homeland Security which is only funded through the end of February.
"The Administration appreciates the bipartisan effort to include full-year appropriations legislation for most Government functions that allows for planning and provides certainty, while making progress toward appropriately investing in economic growth and opportunity, and adequately funding national security requirements," the statement reads in part. "However, the Administration objects to the inclusion of ideological and special interest riders in the House bill," the statement continues."
Specifically, the White House objects to two policy riders attached to the bill. One, which modifies the Dodd-Frank law making it easier for banks to buy and sell certain financial products, and a second which increased the amount of money individuals are allowed to give to parties for national conventions.
A procedural vote on the spending bill narrowly passed this afternoon by a 214-212 vote without any Democratic support. If no Democrat votes for final passage this afternoon, it is very likely the bill will fail. Republican leaders hope this White House statement will help them get some Democrats to vote for final passage.
You can read the entire White House statement below:
Spending bill cleaves Pelosi from Obama and Senate By CHARLES BABINGTON 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi was the odd person out when the Democratic-led Senate and the Democratic president joined most House Republicans in backing a $1.1 trillion spending bill she opposed.
It was an unusual spot late Thursday for the veteran California lawmaker, who did as much as anyone to help President Barack Obama enact his landmark health care law and wind down the war in Iraq.
Pelosi, like many other House liberals, called the spending bill a sop to big banks and big political donors. She said she was "enormously disappointed" the White House backed it.
But she stopped short of going all out to block it, which would have involved "whipping" her fellow Democrats.
