The House of Representatives voted 316-113 this morning to fund the government through September 2016. The Senate quickly followed suit, sending the legislation to the President’s desk. The $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill was passed with support from Republicans and Democrats and included — and excluded — priorities from both parties.
Republicans included several riders to advance their party priorities, including ending a ban on oil exports that has stood for 40 years. But not all of the GOP’s goals were met in the legislation — the bill did not include language stripping funding from Planned Parenthood or blocking refugees from Syria, pleasing Democrats.
This rare instance of bipartisanship and compromise will prevent a government shutdown, one that seemed inevitable earlier this fall. Warnings of another shutdown were strong, due to extreme tactics that unseated then-Speaker of the House John Boehner and sent the House into a frenzy. Only after passing a continuing resolution at the end of September were the two parties able to come together and negotiate a budget deal before Paul Ryan was elected to the speakership.
The spending bill was accompanied by legislation approving $650 billion in tax cuts. Among these cuts were a permanently-extended child tax credit and earned-income tax credit. Both of these tax credits are helpful for low-income families and have been priorities for Sojourners and the Circle of Protection. Yesterday, the Circle of Protection leaders stated their support for the omnibus and tax bills, saying that “making these EITC and CTC provisions permanent will prevent 16 million people from falling into or deeper into poverty.”
The Circle of Protection also mentioned goals for Congress before 2016. Among these are passing child nutrition reauthorization and the Global Food Security Act. According to Politico, the Senate Agriculture Committee is planning to work on child nutrition in January.
The spending and tax bills are expected to be signed into law by President Obama.
Read about them here.
Patrick Walls is the Communications Assistant for Sojourners. He muses about the world at @I_Am_PWalls.
Got something to say about what you're reading? We value your feedback!