House consideration of the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution echoed the famous novel Lord of the Flies authored by William Golding. The book is about a group of British schoolboys stranded on a deserted island without adult supervision who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results.
Around 4:30 AM Saturday morning, the House concluded its marathon, free-wheeling four days of consideration of the Continuing Resolution. The bill passed on an almost party-line vote of 235 – 189, with all Democrats voting against and all but three Republicans voting for.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) gave almost free rein to his flock to offer any amendments on a bill funding the federal government. Republicans then used the measure to target as many New Deal, Great Society and Obama Administration policies as they could. The only reason they could not move against Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid is that these entitlement programs are not funded in the bill.
The major focus in the bill and amendments was on federal government programs in the health, environment, regulatory reform areas and more – with special crosshairs on defunding implementation of the health care reform bill adopted last year.
There was a long debate on an amendment eventually adopted to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood. The Environmental Protection Agency would be prohibited from regulating greenhouse gases. the Federal Communications Commission would be barred from initiating net neutrality regulations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) would be blocked from fighting gun trafficking to Mexico.
The total cuts in the bill even before floor action were about $61 billion from the Continuing Resolution the government is presently operating under and $100 billion from the Obama Administration request.
Politico accurately described the bill as: “More a battering ram than a budget.” The New York Times pointed out: “Virtually no aspect of American life, from farms to the Internet to sexuality to education, was left untouched.”
The Washington Post added: “The GOP plan would eliminate numerous programs, including the Corporation for National Service, which runs the Americorps program; it would terminate federal funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It would cut $600 million from border security and immigration programs.”
Going into floor consideration of the bill, the State Department (-21%) and the Department of Energy (-15%) took big hits. The Defense budget was not totally sacrosanct, and was trimmed by 2.8%. One anti-UN amendment failed but another succeeded. An amendment to cut further multilateral organization funding failed.
Going small ball as well as large, Members successfully went after funding for the United States Institute for Peace and the East-West Center in Hawaii.
A comprehensive list of national security-related amendments follows. It is an intriguing conglomeration of topics. Most amendments on defense issues and the wars offered by liberal Democrats went down to resounding defeat. Amendments to cut the defense budget by Members of both parties were defeated, aside from the Rooney (R-FL) amendment to cut funds for the second F-35 engines.
The bill now goes to the Senate, which is expected to ignore the House-passed bill. However, the last temporary Continuing Resolution runs out on March 4. Neither the Senate nor the House is in session this week, leaving little time before the deadline.
In the meantime, threats are flying across Capitol Hill about shutting the government if an agreement is not worked out to satisfy House Republicans, Senate Democrats and the White House
Amendments acted upon
(Click here to see the actual roll call vote.)
Offered By: Mr. Flake (R-AZ) (cuts Defense-wide operations and maintenance by $18.750 million)
AMENDMENT NO. 370: Page 9, line 15
Defeated 207-223, Feb. 15, 2011 (Roll call #41)
Offered By: Mr. Pompeo (R-KS) (cuts money from Pentagon innovation grant programs)
AMENDMENT NO. 87: Page 22, line 18, Cut $502,400,000
Defeated 72 – 358, Feb. 15, 2011 (Roll call #42)
Offered By: Mr. Gutierrez (D-IL) (cuts V-22 Osprey)
Amendment No. 63: Page 23, line 12,
Defeated 105 – 326, Feb. 15, 2011 (Roll call #43)
Offered By: Mr. Pompeo (R-KS) (reduces Pentagon research on alternative fuels by $115.2 million)
AMENDMENT NO. 86: Page 32, line 21.
Defeated 109 – 320, Feb. 15, 2011 (Roll call #44)
Offered By: Mr. Quigley (D-IL) (cuts Pentagon R&D money across-the-board by $7.5 billion)
AMENDMENT NO. 162: Page 33, line 9
Defeated by voice vote, February 15, 2011
Offered By: Mr. Rooney (R-FL) (Cutting second F-35 engine amendment)
AMENDMENT NO. 2: Page 33, line 16,
Approved 233 to 198, February 16, 2011 (Roll call #46)
Offered By: Mr. Jones (R-NC) (cuts $400 million in funds for Afghanistan Infrastructure Fund)
AMENDMENT NO. 95: Page 127, line 23
Defeated 135 – 294, February 16, 2011 (Roll call #47)
Offered By: Mr. Holt (D-NJ) (eliminates $1.5 billion Iraq Security Forces Fund)
AMENDMENT NO. 237: Page 131, line 24
Defeated Holt 133 – 299, February 16, 2011 (Roll call #48)
Offered By Mr. Weiner (D-NY) (cuts U.S. Institute for Peace by $42.7 million)
AMENDMENT NO. 100: Page 131, line 24
Approved 268 – 163, February 17, 2011 (Roll call #76)
Offered by Mr. Canseco (R-TX) (eliminates East-West Center)
AMENDMENT NO. 248
Approved 274 – 155, February 17, 2011 (Roll call #77)
Offered By: Mr. Heller (R-NV) (cuts several multilateral accounts by $211 million, including International Organizations and Programs by $45million)
AMENDMENT NO. 29: Page 326
Defeated 190 – 241, February 17, 2011 (Roll call #78)
Offered By: Ms. Woolsey (D-CA) (bans funds for V-22 and Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle)
AMENDMENT NO. 189: At the end of the bill
Defeated 91 – 339, February 17, 2011 (Roll call #80)
Offered By: Mr. Fortenberry (R-NE) (bars assistance to Chad)
AMENDMENT NO. 424:
Approved by voice vote, February 17, 2011
Offered By: Ms. McCollum (D-MN) (prohibits DOD from sponsoring NASCAR race cars)
AMENDMENT NO. 50: At the end of the bill
Defeated 148 – 281, February 18, 2011 (Roll call #90)
Offered By: Nadler (D-NY), Lee (D-CA) & Stark (D-CA) (cuts all but $10 billion for the war in Afghanistan, with the remaining money to be used to withdraw troops)
AMENDMENT NO. 232: At the end of the bill.
Defeated 98 – 331, February 18, 2011 (Roll call #91)
Offered By: Mr. Kind (D-WI) (cuts Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle & a missile program)
AMENDMENT NO. 88: At the end of the bill
Defeated 123 – 306, February 18, 2011 (Roll call #102)
Offered By: Blackburn (R-TN)-Jordon (R-OH) (across-the-board cuts of most programs by reducing all appropriations by 5.5%, or $22 billion in total, exempting Defense, Homeland Security, and Military Construction-Veterans, and funding for Israel)
AMENDMENT NO. 104: At the end of the bill
Defeated 147 – 281, February 18, 2011 (Roll call #103)
Offered By: Mr. Forbes (R-VA) (bans closing Joint Forces Command in Virginia)
AMENDMENT NO. 145: At the end of the bill
Approved by voice vote, February 18, 2011
Offered By: Mr. Weiner (D-NY) (bars assistance to Saudi Arabia because of “their propensity to export terrorists”
AMENDMENT NO. 126: At the end of the bill
Approved by voice vote, February 18, 2011
Offered By: Mr. Campbell (R-CA) (cuts defense budget by 3.5%, or about $18 billion, as well as the Department of Homeland Security budget)
AMENDMENT NO. 519: At the end of the bill
Defeated 68 – 357, February 18, 2011 (Roll call #105)
(Note: 22 Republicans voted Aye)
Offered By: Mr. Broun (R-GA) (bars funding for United Nations dues)
AMENDMENT NO. 263: At the end of the bill
Defeated 177 – 243, February 18, 2011 (Roll call #107)
Offered by: Mr. Forbes (R-VA) (bars Pentagon spending on lobbying Congress)
AMENDMENT NO. 146: At the end of the bill
Approved 241 – 184 (Roll call #116)
Offered By: Mr. Polis (D-CO) (cuts Armed Forces personnel in Europe to no more than 35,000)
AMENDMENT NO. 46: At the end of the bill
Defeated 74 – 351, February 18, 2011 (Roll call #118)
Offered By: Mr. Stearns (R-FL) (bars United Nations renovation)
AMENDMENT NO. 8: At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:
Approved 231 – 191, February 18, 2011 (Roll call #124)
Offered By: Mr. Kucinich (D-OH) (cuts all funds for missile defense)
AMENDMENT NO. 233: At the end of the bill
Defeated by voice vote, February 18, 2011
Offered By: Mr. Heller (R-NV) (cuts funds for Yucca nuclear waste repository)
AMENDMENT NO. 174: At the end of the bill,
Defeated by voice vote, February 18, 2011
Offered By: Ms. Lee (D-CA) (cuts Pentagon funding to Fiscal Year 2008 levels)
AMENDMENT NO. 141: At the end of the bill
Defeated 76 – 344, February 18, 2011 (Roll call #128)
