Tag Archive for: appropriations

House Passes EPA Spending Bill That Defunds Several Biden Climate Initiatives

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

The House of Representatives passed its sixth appropriations bill to fund certain government agencies related to the environment on Friday that would defund many of the Biden administration’s climate-change-focused initiatives.

The Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 allocates over $25 billion to fund conservation programs, agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management(BLM) and Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) as well as cultural promotion agencies such as the national endowments for the arts and humanities. After spending over 12 hours considering amendments to the bill on Thursday and Friday morning, the House passed the bill by a vote of 213 yeas to 203 nays, with all Democrats but one voting against the bill.

“In drafting this bill, we worked very hard to rein in federal spending while prioritizing critical needs within our Subcommittee’s allocation,” said Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho’s 2nd District, who introduced the bill, at a meeting of the House Appropriations Committee in July to consider the bill. “Cutting funding is never easy and it can often be an ugly, arduous process. But with the national debt in excess of $32 trillion and inflation at an unacceptable level, we must make tough choices to ensure we do not saddle our children and grandchildren with overwhelming debt.”

Amid widespread Republican opposition to the many climate change initiatives of the Biden administration, the House considered over 130 amendments on the floor to the bill, mostly from Republican members seeking to deny funds for these initiatives. Many of their amendments failed to pass due to bipartisan opposition.

Among the amendments passed by the House was a provision to deny funds for enforcing prohibitions on plastic straws, which was offered by Republican Rep. John Rose of Tennessee. Another such amendment, offered by Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, denies the government funds to prevent domestic pollutants from adversely affecting foreign countries.

One amendment, by Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, denies funds to implement a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act(IRA) that raises minimum rents and royalties for oil and gas projects. Perhaps the most narrowly passed amendment was one advanced by Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, which denies funds to implement any of President Joe Biden’s climate-change-focused executive orders, which was approved by one vote.

The bill has been opposed by Biden, whose administration released a statement indicating that he would veto it. “These levels would result in deep cuts to clean energy programs and other programs that work to combat climate change, essential nutrition services, law enforcement, consumer safety, education, and healthcare,” wrote the Office of Management and Budget about the bill’s funding levels, adding that it “include[s] billions in additional rescissions from the [Inflation Reduction Act] and other vital legislation.”

In parallel, the Senate has proposed a separate appropriations bill for these departments and agencies, which provides $19 billion more than the House bill and largely supports Biden’s environmental agenda, including $100 million for environmental justice programs, according to a press release from the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AUTHOR

ARJUN SINGH

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLES:

GOP Rep Introduces Bill To Defang Two Of Biden’s Signature Climate Programs

The Religion of Global Climate Change

Even Bill Gates [!] is Backtracking on Climate Change

Fear-Mongering UN Chief Wants $100B to Combat ‘Climate Chaos’

House Passes Israel Aid Bill Funded By IRS Cuts

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

House Passes H.R. 8126 the ‘Israel Aid Bill’ Funded by IRS Cuts

/in , , , , , , , , /by

The House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would send military aid to Israel during its conflict with Hamas, which will be funded by cuts to funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 would provide funds to the Department of Defense to replace equipment provided to Israel as military aid, fund research for new air defense systems that are being developed by Israel, such as the Iron Beam aerial laser program, and fund the Department of State’s programs to evacuate U.S. citizens from the region as well as protect U.S. diplomatic missions under new threats due to the conflict. The bill was passed by a vote of 226 yeas to 196 nays, with most Democrats voting against the bill.

“House Republicans are bringing forward a bill to ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself as it fights to eliminate the threat from Hamas,” wrote House Majority Steve Scalise in an email to the Daily Caller News Foundation ahead of the vote. “Israel has every right to defend itself against such heinous actions, and we must stand with them in their fight against our shared enemies for self-determination, democracy, and freedom.”

H.R. 6126 – Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 by Daily Caller News Foundation on Scribd

The bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, along with 100 other Republican co-sponsors. It has been strongly opposed by Senate Democrats, with Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray tweeting that “[t]he House GOP’s bill is dead on arrival” in the upper chamber, and the Biden administration stating that President Joe Biden would veto the bill if presented to him.

Biden had previously proposed a supplemental appropriations bill worth over $100 billion to fund aid not only to Israel but also to Ukraine during its war against Russia as well as provide funds for border security and immigration processing at the U.S. border with Mexico. That request was widely criticized by House Republicans, who indicated that the proposal would not receive support in their chamber, where they hold a majority.

A nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) review of the bill’s budgetary effects estimated that it would increase the fiscal deficit by nearly $12.5 billion over ten years until 2033. The CBO noted that funds cut from the IRS are intended to support enforcement actions against delinquent taxpayers, which “would result in fewer enforcement actions over the next decade and in a reduction in revenue collections,” according to the office’s report to Congress.

“Speaker Johnson and House Republicans released a totally unserious and woefully inadequate package that omitted aid to Ukraine, omitted humanitarian assistance to Gaza, had no funding for the Indo-Pacific, and made funding for Israel conditional on hard-right, never-going-to-pass proposals. What a joke,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Will Reinart criticized Democrats in a statement to the DCNF for opposing the bill “as terrorists continue their barbaric attacks.”

Ahead of the bill’s consideration by the House, several House Republicans indicated to the DCNF that they would not have voted for a bill providing military aid unless it was offset by corresponding spending cuts.

“We are in the worst fiscal crisis our country has ever faced,” said Republican Rep. Bob Good of Virginia to the DCNF. “We ought to require offsets, cuts to … the IRS expansion in order to fund [the bill]. We shouldn’t be borrowing from China, borrowing from our kids’ and grandkids’ future to fund the Israeli funding. Even though it’s good policy, we literally don’t have the money.”

“We need to have the offsets,” Good said when pressed on whether he’d support a bill to aid Israel without offsetting cuts. This point was echoed by Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.

“Funding for many of those things needs to be offset because we are running trillion-dollar deficits at this point,” Perry told the DCNF. “Since the president refuses to be the adult in the room … that’s going to be the House of Representatives,” he added.

“I do not believe we should write another blank check to anyone, including ourselves, we must pay for it. And the American people must see that it’s going to cause something if we’re going to give another $14 billion to Israel,” said Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas in comments shared with the DCNF. “If you see me in the end having to vote against Israel funding, just make sure you heard it here first, right? I support Israel. But I am not going to continue to go down this road where we bankrupt our country.”

Schumer and the Israeli Mission to the United States did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AUTHOR

ARJUN SINGH

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLES:

German Vice-Chancellor Declares Unequivocal Support for Israel

House GOP Unveils Israel Aid Bill That Would Take Back Funds From Biden’s Massive IRS Funding Surge To Pay For It

RELATED POST ON X:

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.