House leaves town without passing health spending bill with conservative provisions
The House Adjourns Without Passing $60 Billion in Funding Cuts
The House adjourned on Wednesday until after the Thanksgiving holiday without passing an appropriations bill that slashes $60 billion in funding from the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. This decision leaves H.R. 5894, which is intended to fund the three agencies for fiscal 2024, looming over Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as a key part of his agenda as the new speaker.
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“We cannot continue to make our constituents pay for reckless D.C. Beltway spending,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
Democrats decried the various cuts to jobs training programs, as well as the nearly $23 billion in cuts to the Department of Education, largely from Title I funding for struggling public school districts in urban areas and Head Start funding.
“The programs that are not completely abolished in this bill are so poorly funded as to be completely nonfunctional,” ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said. “This bill is shameful.”
Debates over the 146 total amendments to the spending package continued until 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Although several additions to the bill passed with voice votes, DeLauro requested that 25 of the most conservative amendments be passed by a recorded vote.
Only three of the amendments successfully passed on Wednesday, including a provision to prevent the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from studying gun violence and mortality rates.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) blamed Republicans during the floor debate for wasting time on passing appropriations bills, saying the House GOP has been “embroiled in chaos and dysfunction.”
“This isn’t serious governance,” Scanlon said. “They’re playing politics with Americans lives and our country’s future.”
The majority of the floor debate on the whole bill emphasized the cuts to various healthcare programs and restrictions of programs related to reproductive health and abortion.
The appropriations resolution would eliminate the Title X Family Planning Program, which provides an estimated 2.6 million low-income and uninsured people with basic pregnancy care services, as well as preventive cancer screenings. The program has been controversial among some Republicans in part because of how the Biden administration has leveraged Title X funding against states with strict abortion prohibitions.
“Republican politicians have no place dictating decisions about women’s reproductive health,” Scanlon said.
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) noted that prohibiting taxpayer-funded abortion has been a bipartisan cause since the Hyde Amendment was passed in 1976.
Burgess said the appropriations needs measure to “maintain the balance between professional practice of medicine and individual values” concerning federally funded medical training programs that require resident physicians to perform abortion procedures.
“Future medical professionals are being forced to practice medicine outside of their own standards or to not practice at all,” Burgess said. “Protections placed in this bill ensure that any medical professional who does not wish to perform procedures that are against their religious or moral standards simply do not have to.”
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Burgess said, the bill prevents spending “to promote gain of function research or from any funding going to … the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or any other lab located in the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Iran, or Russia.”
The bill further cuts funding to several branches of the National Institutes of Health, as well as of the CDC, including for anti-smoking, anti-HIV, and mental health programs.
“Deaths will be the reality if these cuts come to fruition,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said. “But at least this bill nakedly reflects the true values of MAGA House Republicans.”
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President Joe Biden’s Office of Management and Budget said the bill “puts radical right-wing politics over the needs of the American people,” noting that Biden would veto the measure if passed in both chambers of the legislature.
“Its cruel cuts purposefully dismantle decades of progress in early childhood investments, education, maternal health and equity, public health, and more,” according to the OMB.
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Said Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL). “This is a direct attack on women’s rights and access to healthcare.”
Despite the heated debates and passionate arguments from both sides, the bill ultimately failed to pass before the House adjourned for the Thanksgiving holiday. Speaker Johnson expressed disappointment in the outcome but remained optimistic about future opportunities to pass the proposed appropriations bill.
“While it is unfortunate that we were unable to pass this bill before the holiday break, I am confident that we will find a path forward in the coming weeks,” Johnson stated. “We remain committed to fiscal responsibility and ensuring the efficient allocation of taxpayer funds.”
With H.R. 5894 still looming over Speaker Johnson’s agenda, the next few weeks will be crucial in determining the fate of the proposed $60 billion in funding cuts. As lawmakers return from the Thanksgiving holiday, they will be faced with the daunting task of addressing the various concerns and criticisms raised during the debate.
Additionally, the political landscape may undergo significant changes in the coming weeks, as discussions surrounding federal funding, healthcare, and reproductive rights continue to dominate the national conversation. It is unclear at this point whether compromises can be reached or if the partisan divide will further hinder progress in passing vital appropriations bills.
As the House adjourns without passing the $60 billion in funding cuts, one thing is certain – the debate is far from over. The coming weeks will be filled with intense negotiations, heated discussions, and potentially contentious votes as lawmakers strive to reach a consensus that satisfies the needs and concerns of all Americans.
Whether or not Speaker Johnson can successfully navigate these challenges and pass the proposed appropriations bill remains to be seen. However, one thing is clear – the outcome of these debates will have significant implications for the future of funding for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, as well as the overall direction of fiscal policy in the United States.
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