House presses on with spending debate

The House forged on with debate on amendments on appropriations bills late Wednesday night despite potential signs of trouble with passing the first measure out of the gate.

House GOP leadership delayed a vote on the first fiscal 2016 appropriations bill of the year funding the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects Wednesday night. Votes on amendments, including one to eliminate the use of a Pentagon war fund to pay for military construction projects, and final passage are now expected Thursday.

The House was originally slated to vote around 8 p.m. Wednesday on amendments and passage of the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs measure.

{mosads}The appropriations bills are being considered under a process that allows members to offer an unlimited number of amendments. Debate on the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs measure finished around 8:20 p.m.

The House then turned to 40 minutes of general debate, as well as two and a half hours of amendment debate, on the second appropriations bill funding the Department of Energy and water infrastructure.

Members are still only less than halfway through the 58-page Energy-Water bill.

Passage of the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill would have marked the earliest start to the annual appropriations process since 1974. But if it passes Thursday instead, the House will be tied with its record last year.

House GOP leadership aides denied a problem with the whip count on the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill. 

But Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), one of the sponsors of the amendment eliminating the use of a Pentagon war fund to pay for military construction, warned that his proposal could very well pass and potentially imperil passage of the bill — usually the easiest to pass each year.

The White House has issued veto threats against both bills due to objections with the spending limits.