Trending
WASHINGTON -- A budget package passed Thursday by the U.S. House of Representatives did so without Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va.
The $1.3 trillion spending plan, called the Consolidated Appropriations Act, passed 256-167 and goes next to the Senate. It finances government through September and prevents a shutdown at midnight today.
"One reason I voted against the Omnibus spending bill is it adds over $1 trillion to the national debt," Mooney, R-2nd, said.
Representatives were given less than 24 hours to read an over 2,200-page bill, Mooney said. This bill was written behind closed doors without the type of input Americans expect and deserve from their representatives, he said.
"Yesterday, just before midnight, I personally attended the Rules Committee hearing to offer an amendment to the bill that would have eliminated funding for abortion provider Planned Parenthood. Unfortunately, the amendment was rejected by the Rules Committee. My amendment, along with many others offered, were prevented from even receiving a vote on the House floor," he said.
"I also oppose the anti-Second Amendment provision in the bill, known as 'Fix NICS.' This provision allows unelected bureaucrats to revoke Second Amendment rights from citizens without due process guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution."
The bill fails to fund President Trump's border wall, funds grants for Planned Parenthood and sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants, doesn't replace or reduce burdensome regulations under "Obamacare" and doesn't include "concealed reciprocity for law-abiding Americans," Mooney said.
"Last year, I voted for all 12 appropriations bills to fully fund government for the entire year," Mooney said. "Those bills went through an open and transparent process and reflect the values of West Virginians."
Rep. David McKinley and Rep. Evan Jenkins, Republicans in the 1st and 3rd districts of West Virginia, voted in favor. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, also voted in favor.
McKinley said the bill will benefit West Virginia and the opioid addiction epidemic.
The legislation includes $4 billion in additional resources to fight the opioid epidemic, more money for medical research, programs to improve West Virginia's economy and for research for more efficient and cleaner coal, aids the creation of an Appalachian Storage Hub for natural gas development, McKinley said. On March 1, a letter spearheaded by McKinley and Rep. Susan Davis of California, Andre Carson of Iowa and Peter King of New York asked senior House appropriators to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health. It was signed by 209 members of Congress.
"This bipartisan funding package is a huge boost for West Virginia. We made the largest investment in our history to combat the opioid epidemic, and ensured more of it is targeted to states like West Virginia. We significantly increased investment in medical research so we can find cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's," McKinley said in a statement.
"We fought to include measures that will significantly boost West Virginia's economy, like improving the brownfields program and advancing the Appalachian Storage Hub Project. And lastly, we made significant investments in fossil fuel research and development, which will enable us to burn coal cleaner and more efficiently than ever before," McKinley said.
After Trump made his announcement on opioids last week, the bill puts billions of dollars into the national emergency, has more military spending and makes a down payment on Trump's border wall, Jenkins said.
"President Trump asked Congress to send him this bill for his signature. While this bill isn't perfect, it is too important not to support. This bill is about more than just keeping the government open past Friday. It's about making critical investments in making our state a better place to live," he said.
"It's about funding the fight to stop the opioid crisis from ravaging our communities and costing lives. It's about repairing roads and bridges to ensure a safer drive to work and school. It's about attracting new businesses and industries to West Virginia to create jobs so our kids don't have to leave the state to find work," Jenkins said.