{Political_Views} Shutdown Looms as House rejects temporary spending bill over FEMA funding

 

News from The Hill:

 

Shutdown? House rejects temporary spending bill over FEMA funding

By Pete Kasperowicz - 09/21/11 05:43 PM ET

 

The House on Wednesday afternoon surprised Republican leaders by rejecting a temporary spending bill allowing the government to operate through November 18.

The defeat was due to strenuous objections from Democrats who opposed cuts to a Department of Energy program in order to offset the cost of additional disaster funding, and from members of both parties who favored more disaster funding than was in the bill.

The vote will leave House leaders scrambling to come up with an alternative continuing resolution in order to ensure government funding past September 30, and seems to increase the chances of more congressional work week next week, when both the House and Senate plan to be off.

Members rejected the bill in a 195-230 vote that saw 48 Republicans vote against the measure, and only six Democrats support it.

Funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was by far the most controversial element in the bill. Aside from falling short of demands from Republicans and Democrats for more FEMA funds, Democrats in particular objected to a $1.5 billion cut to the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, which helped pay for the FEMA increase.

"I have serious objection to the pay for in this legislation," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. "I have a bigger objection that we would have to pay for disasters. We never paid for the tax cuts for the rich, they never were paid for. We never paid for the wars in Afghanistan in Iraq, they were never paid for."

Democrats argued since last week that this Energy Department program helps create auto industry jobs and gives U.S. auto companies the funding to develop advanced technology, in areas such as improved fuel efficiency.

"To date, this program has awarded $3.5 billion of credit subsidy to promote energy-efficient advanced vehicles and their component parts," House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) said. "The Department of Energy estimates the loan guarantees have created or maintained in total 39,000 jobs in California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri and Tennessee."

During the debate, several Republicans rejected this by saying the DOE program has $4 billion in unused funds, and that $2.5 billion would remain if the offset were approved.

Republicans also had to fend off complaints that more FEMA funding is needed. These arguments likely appealed to many Republican "no" votes, although no Republican spoke against the bill during debate. thereby letting the Democrats do their dirty work for them and letting the Democrats take the blame, even though the Republicans hold a good 50 + seat majority in the House.

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