Dems push gun control, Puerto Rico relief in budget talks
Share
LinkedIn
Email
House Democrats have bounced to Republicans their latest offer on government spending in a package that strips a slew of conservative riders and adds a few wish-list items of their own.
The Democrats’ legislation, delivered to GOP leaders on Wednesday, includes a provision to extend healthcare benefits to 9/11 responders and another to help Puerto Rico manage its debt crisis, Rep. Nita Lowey (N.Y.), senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, told The Hill Thursday.
It also includes language ending the decades-old federal ban on gun violence research — a provision sure to be a non-starter with the Republicans.
The Democrats’ package is just the latest volley in the government spending debate as the sides scramble to winnow out the “poison-pill” policy amendments — those deemed unacceptable by one side or the other — that have stalled the debate.
Republicans have been pushing a series of riders the Democrats say fit that category. They include efforts to gut water and air pollution regulations, eliminate Wall Street reforms, make it tougher for workers to unionize and bolster screenings for refugees fleeing violence in Syria and Iraq.
Lowey said the Democrats package sheds all of the controversial conservative additions.
Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and sponsor of the Syrian refugee bill, said Republicans met on the issue Wednesday, and that Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) “was pretty intent” on keeping that provision in the package.
“But it’s really up to leadership, at this point,” McCaul said Thursday morning.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), meanwhile, suggested Thursday that Democrats will push hard for their gun provision but won’t insist that it be included in the package.
“What we’re saying [is] this is a priority for us,” she said.
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) announced Thursday that the 9/11 healthcare and compensation bill will be a part of the omnibus, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.), first disclosed the measure’s inclusion in a tweet Thursday.
“I’m thrilled,” Maloney, the lead sponsor of the proposal, said Thursday by phone immediately following the announcement. “This is incredible news for New York.”
She said negotiators are still working out how the $8.1 billion cost would be covered, but said she’s confident they’ll do so by the time the package is unveiled.
As the debate evolves, Democratic leaders now appear to be fighting to see how many concessions they can win in return for accepting an end to the ban on crude oil exports — a debate that’s entwined the omnibus and the tax extenders bills even as they move on separate tracks.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.), the minority whip, said this week that Democrats are willing to swallow that provision in exchange for GOP concessions on some of the Democrats’ priorities. Among those Democratic priorities is a push to index certain family-friendly tax breaks to inflation — a move Republicans have resisted.
To buy themselves some time, GOP leaders on Wednesday introduced a five-day spending bill, which is slated for a Friday vote. That timeline means the final omnibus package will have to emerge on Monday, to fit the so-called three-day rule that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has promised
Sarah Ferris contributed.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..
Main Area Top ↴
Testing Homepage Widget
More House News
Campaign
by Sarah Fortinsky
2 months ago
Senate
by Alexander Bolton
2 months ago
Campaign
by Tara Suter
2 months ago
House
by Mychael Schnell
2 months ago
Main Area Middle ↴
Main Area Bottom ↴
Top Stories
Mental Health
by Patrick Djordjevic
4 months ago
Medical Advances
by Taylor Delandro
5 months ago
Poverty
by Xavier Walton
5 months ago
Sidebar Top ↴
Most Popular
- Marjorie Taylor Greene stumps for Steve Bannon as he reports to prison
- Stock market today: Despite Oracle’s drag, Wall Street drifts as it waits for ...
- Soros’ Open Society Foundations say they remain focused on human rights
- Former chairman of state-owned bank China Everbright Group jailed for 12 years ...
- China’s CATL forms joint venture with Stellantis to build electric vehicle ...
- Trudeau says Americans are realizing Trump’s tariffs on Canada would make ...
- Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to change his family’s trust over Fox News media ...
- Boeing lays off hundreds in Washington and California as part of cuts announced ...
- Trump Organization leases brand to 2 new projects in Saudi Arabia
- Missouri companies sue to stop a law that raises minimum wage and requires paid ...
- Stock market today: Nvidia drags Wall Street from its records as oil and gold ...
- TikTok asks federal appeals court to bar enforcement of potential ban until ...
- It’s his job to keep American’s planes running on time
- NYC ad agency titans Omnicom and Interpublic to form $30 billion marketing ...
- Activist investors urge Macy’s to create a real estate unit among other ...
- Cyprus and the US double down on a joint effort to combat financial crimes with ...
- Chinese leaders pledge ‘moderately loose’ monetary policy, more support for ...
- Days after gunman killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, police push to ID him and ...
Sidebar Middle ↴
tt
Harris calls for ending filibuster for abortion rights
Harris calls for ending filibuster for abortion rights
The Hill's Headlines, May 28, 2024
Speaker Johnson on passing foreign aid package
Undecided voters' impact on 2024 election - The Daily ...
Nikki Haley gets Koch backing
The Hill's Headlines – Nov. 28, 2023
Sidebar Bottom ↴