Paul Ryan wanted a budget and lacking a budget, we got another Omnibus Bill stuffed with all sorts of things we needed to pass in order to find out what’s in it.
The final vote count was 166 Democrats and 150 Republicans in favor. The total vote was 316-113.
Nancy Pelosi congratulated Paul Ryan:
Here’s the list of no votes (via Rob Bluey):
The 150 Republicans voting for this Omnibus bill is slightly lower than under Boehner, and precisely the number the Republican Whip predicted would be needed on big spending bills:
Harry Reid was happy to see the Democrat controlled House pass the measure, which now moves on to the Senate:
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has harshly criticized how Omnibus has proceeded through Congress:
We’re being told that the omnibus and tax extenders grand bargain is a legislative accomplishment of the highest order – a shining example of what can happen when the two parties in Washington come together to “get things done.”And, in a sense, I don’t disagree. This bill is the textbook example of how Washington actually works. And that is the problem.Because all too often, when Washington “works” it does so not for American families, workers, or future generations, but for political elites and the sprawling ecosystem of lobbyists and special interests that subsist on the federal government’s largesse.This bill is a case study of Washington’s bipartisan bargains turning into special-interest bonanzas. Like so many policies that come out of Congress today, the omnibus and tax extenders have something for everyone….I’ll be the first to admit that there are some laudable provisions in both the spending and the tax bill that make important policy reforms.There’s the two-year moratorium of Obamacare’s ill-conceived medical device tax, and the defunding of Obamacare’s cronyist risk-corridor program.There’s the lifting of the government’s foolish ban on crude oil exports, and the extension of several sound tax provisions that never should have been temporary in the first place.But the process has been rigged so that we can’t vote on these commendable policy reforms by themselves. In fact, we can’t vote for any one of these sensible, positive reforms without also voting for each and every dysfunctional, irresponsible, and unsustainable policy found in the two-thousand-page bill.
Even John McCain agrees with Lee on the process and substance:
The Senate is voting right now. You can watch on C-Span live. Based on the way procedural votes are going, seems certain to pass.
UPDATE:
The bill passed the Senate:
Marco Rubio missed the vote:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) missed Friday’s Senate vote approving a massive $1.8 trillion end-of-the-year spending bill and tax package — a day after he suggested that he would try to slow the legislation down.The Florida Republican, who is running for president, was the only 2016 contender to miss the vote, which is the Senate’s final vote of the year. …Rubio’s missed vote comes after he suggested that he could use procedural tactics to try to slow down the legislation, which he said he opposed.
This will haunt his campaign.
Planned Parenthood was happy:
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