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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion spending package late Friday morning.
Three of the nine members of the Tennessee Congressional Delegation voted in favor of the budget, the sole Democrat Steve Cohen (D-TN 9th District) and two Republicans.
Of the two Republicans who voted for the bill, David Kustoff (R-TN 8th District) is running unopposed in the Republican Primary on August 1st, 2024 while Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN 3rd District) is being challenged by two Republican candidates, Charlotte Bergmann and Antwane Bohanon.
Diana Harshbarger (R-TN 1st District), Tim Burchett (R-TN 2nd District), Scott DesJarlais (R- 4thTN District), Andy Ogles (R-TN 5th District) and Mark Green (R-TN 7th District) all voted against the spending package and John Rose (R-TN 6th District) did not vote due to a scheduled surgery for his son.
A press release from Rose’s office stated, “Congressman Rose traveled back to Tennessee to be with his son, Guy, who underwent a pre-planned and successful surgery on both of his legs,” said Spokesperson Dylan Jones. “Had Congressman Rose been in attendance for the vote, he would have voted ‘NO.’ Rep. Rose has voted against every single Biden-Pelosi-Schumer ‘CR’ and each spending package ‘omnibus’ signed into law that didn’t cut federal spending in a meaningful and impactful way.”
The U.S. Senate then voted around 2 a.m. on Saturday, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk where he is expected to sign it and avert a shutdown of the government.
Both Tennessee Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty voted against the package which includes funding for various departments such as Homeland Security, Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, foreign operations, financial services and the legislative branch.
Democrats and Republicans disagreed over the size of the budget. Conservatives pushed for cuts in spending so as to reduce the national debt. Progressives meanwhile wanted even more money spent on climate change initiatives and social programs.
The funding package boosts the budget for the Defense Department which will receive $824.5 billion – a $27.75 billion increase – and includes a 5.2% pay raise for troops and civilian employees retroactive to the beginning of the year. $500 million of the money is to go to Israel with another $300 million to assist Ukraine.
Funding for the Treasury Department will be slightly reduced while the Internal Revenue Service will remain the same. The Election Assistance Commission receives a small cut.
Customs and Border Protection funding grows to $19 billion, up from $3 billion, and Immigration Customs Enforcement will get $9.6 billion, up from $1.1 billion, with Republicans saying that more needs to be done to secure the border.
