On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted 309-118 to pass the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. Ultimately, more Democrats ended up voting for the bill than Republicans, with a number of House Freedom Caucus members voting no. All of Georgia’s Democrats voted for the bill but three of the delegation’s Republicans voted against the deal.
Rep. Drew Ferguson (R- GA 3) was one of the nays – along with Reps. Jody Hice (R- GA 10) and Barry Loudermilk (R- GA 11) – and was on C-SPAN on Tuesday and called the bill “I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a good deal but it’s a deal. Unfortunately we are being asked to finish up a process that should’ve been completed last year. We have a new president with a new direction and now we’re trying to blend an older policy and an older budget with a new direction. And it is a complicated process.” Ferguson went on to hint that nobody wants a shutdown but if that is the price to pay for fixing a broken budget process, he might be okay with that.
Despite criticism from some conservative circles (including Rush Limbaugh asking Vice President Pence what the point of voting Republican was), the bill did have some enthusiastic support from some Republicans. Said Rep. Tom Graves (R- GA 14), “This five-month government funding plan is a win for all Americans. Among the many victories, our plan starts rebuilding the military, increasing funding by $25 billion from last year. Our plan terminates, rescinds or consolidates more than 150 government programs or initiatives. Our plan protects life by renewing the Hyde amendment, which prohibits federal funding of abortions. Additionally, as chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Appropriations, I’m especially glad to report that we slashed spending by eight percent in that section of the bill.”
“Yes” Republicans were perhaps eager to stave off another defeat in the still-early days of the Trump administration and avoid a government shutdown. The next shutdown threat in September may be tougher, and may even have some support from the White House.
Georgia did see a number of wins in the budget. The bill included $42.7 million for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, which is currently around 60% complete. The budget also includes $400 million in disaster relief, which South Georgia should see a portion of as it continues to recover from the severe storms in January. Georgia’s military installations also will see a funding boost. It includes an increase of $992 million for DOD cyber operations, much of which are at Fort Gordon, bringing the total to $6.7 billion. Robins Air Force Base will see a generous share of the $128 million for the next generations of JSTARS surveillance aircraft. Perhaps most importantly, it includes a 2.1% pay increase for the more than 100,000 active duty service members stationed in Georgia.
Rep. Rick Allen (R- GA 12) released a statement noting his support for the “far from perfect” bill and echoing some of the thoughts from Ferguson. “The people of Georgia’s 12th district expect me to vote in their best interest, and today I believe I have done that. While this bill is far from perfect, I believe we must support President Trump and his priorities. We must continue to strengthen the security of our homeland, and this bill includes the largest increase in border security in ten years. It also provides increased defense spending, including nearly one billion dollars for cyber operations, like those in our district at Fort Gordon. Moving forward, I am hopeful that our unified Republican government can return to regular order as we begin the budget process for next year.”
For the full vote roll call, see here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2017/roll249.xml
