House Republicans win spending cuts after marathon funding debate

In a rare Saturday morning session, the House voted to cut more than $60 billion
in spending for the federal government for the remainder of the year.

At 4:40 a.m., lawmakers voted 235-189 to send the so-called continuing
resolution to the Senate. Not one Democrat voted for the bill that
would cut at least $61 billion, from 2010 levels, in spending for federal programs and
agencies.

{mosads}Three Republicans, Reps. John Campbell (R-Calif.),
Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.), opposed the bill that
would pay for government operations on March 4, when the current
funding is set to expire.

For the past four days, lawmakers in the people’s house debated the
stringent spending cuts, submitted by GOP House leaders who pledged
to cut at least $100 billion in federal spending from the president’s
2011 budget request.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) insisted on an “open process,” in which
lawmakers were allowed to offer unlimited amendments to the base bill.

After whittling down more than 500 amendments submitted to the
measure, the House voted on nearly 70 amendments and rejected just
over 50.

On Friday, the House held a series of lightning-round votes on the
scores of amendments – approving items that would defund the
president’s healthcare law, portions of the Environmental Protection
Agency, Planned Parenthood and other federal programs.

Following passage of the CR, Boehner issued a statement calling on
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) to schedule an immediate
vote on the bill that the Speaker said contains “the largest spending
cuts in American history.”

“For the good of our economy and our democracy, I call on Senate
Majority Leader Reid to allow it to come to an immediate vote.

“Cutting federal spending is critical to reducing economic uncertainty,
encouraging private-sector investment, and creating a better
environment for job creation in our country,” Boehner said in a
statement.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) attacked the Republicans’ bill, which she contends will “destroy jobs.”

“Congressional Republicans have spent the last six weeks ignoring jobs
and refusing to offer a plan to grow our economy. Today, they have
made matters worse – passing a spending bill that destroys jobs,
weakens the middle class, hurts schools and young adults, eliminates
assistance to homeless veterans, and diminishes critical investments
in our future,” Pelosi charged.

Congressional Republicans face an uphill climb to reach a compromise
on a CR with a Democratic-controlled Senate and a presidential veto
threat of the bill that the House approved on Saurday.

With little more than two weeks before the current continuing
resolution expires, Congress will likely have to pass a stopgap
spending bill to fund government operations while the House and Senate
negotiate a deal on spending levels for the remaining seven months in
the 2011 fiscal year.

Late Friday, House Democratic leaders introduced a temporary funding
bill that would freeze current government levels until
March 31 “to prevent any interruption in vital government services.”

As Democratic leaders submitted their temporary funding bill, Boehner,
engaged in conversation with a gaggle of reporters, revealed that
details of a stopgap measure acceptable to Republicans to avert
government shutdown on March 4 will be ready “soon enough.”

Members of the House GOP’s majority-making freshman class of 87
lawmakers have indicated their opposition to even a short-term,
two-week extension of funding at current levels. According to several
frosh members, the class of 2010 believes they were sent to D.C. with
a mandate to shrink the size of government and rein in spending.

Boehner said that he had not talked to the White House about the
as-of-yet-unseen GOP stopgap measure.

Asked if he had discussions with Reid, Boehner wouldn’t say.
Putting his hands up, Boehner shook his head: “Stop, stop, stop … I
just came out here to say ‘hi’ and thanks for covering” the fourth
long day of freewheeling debate that unfolded on the House floor
over the GOP’s austere funding cuts.

Boehner’s revelation of a short-term measure came little more than one
day after pundits seized on a comment he made that seemed to raise the
specter of a government shutdown.

“I am not going to move any kind of short-term [resolution] at current
levels,” he said at a press conference on Thursday, a statement that
set up a potential standoff with Democrats that could end in a
government shutdown.

On Friday, Boehner pushed back on talk of a government shutdown, however.

“The only people in this town rooting for a government shutdown are
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. There’s not one Republican talking about
government shutdown. Our goal is to cut spending because it will lead
to a better environment for job creation in America,” Boehner said.

The Senate won’t start work on the funding bill until after Congress
returns from the Presidents Day recess, on Feb. 28 – only five
days before current government funding is set to expire.

Boehner told reporters who followed the lengthy debate late Friday
night that lawmakers were happy to remain in session, well after the
intended Thursday recess target, to have a chance to debate on the
House floor.

The Ohio lawmaker said that there was “a lot of pent-up demand” for
open debate on the House floor, after years of restrictions placed on
House members to offer amendments to legislation on the floor.

He added that the unprecedented debate on the floor over federal
spending was the first of many battles to come in the next few months.

“It’s going to be fascinating here over the next few weeks and months
as we work our way through this, but these are going to be the most
important two, three, four months that we’ve seen in decades,” Boehner
said.