House of Representatives Passes Bipartisan Budget Plan

Yesterday the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan budget plan with a vote 284-149, with 65 republicans voting for and 16 democrats voting against. President Trump had tweeted earlier in the week that the deal had been struck with the high ranking members of Congress “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy”, and it is now one branch closer to being official. The budget plan allocates over $1.3 trillion to U.S. defense spending and another nearly $1.25 trillion for other U.S. government spending over the course of 2020 and 2021. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi commented that by reaching this agreement we “avoid another government shutdown” while also “investing in middle-class priorities that advance the health, financial security, and well-being of the American people, and enhancing our national security.” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy noted how the bill is a “compromise”, “is not perfect”, but “secures important policy victories” for conservatives; specifically, the Hyde amendment “cannot be attacked by Democrats [which means] taxpayer money will not be used to fund abortions” until after 2021.

1. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2019/roll511.xml
2. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1153420653938262019
3. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3877/text
4. https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2019/07/25/house-section/article/H7398-2