Key Vote Alert: “NO” SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1158 AND “NO” ON SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1865, THE END-OF-YEAR SPENDING AGREEMENT AKA THE “DOUBLE-DECKER BUS”
Club for Growth opposes the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1158, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, and the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, and urges all Representatives and Senators to vote no. The legislation is expected to be considered soon in the House of Representatives and Senate. The results of both of the votes will be included in the Club for Growth Foundation’s 2019 Congressional Scorecard.
This legislation spends at the discretionary spending levels of this budget-busting Bipartisan Budget Act, which increased the FY2020 spending cap by over $171 billion and is about a 5:1 ratio of higher spending over revenue cuts on the repeal of the Obamacare taxes on an annualized basis.
The “Double-Decker Bus” is a spending agreement that has been split into two appropriations bills. Additionally, the Double-Decker Bus includes many anomalies that do not belong on spending bills, including anomalies that extend the authorizations of several expiring federal programs, such as a 7-year reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im), and reauthorizations of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Temporary Assistants for Needy Families (TANF) through the end of the fiscal year. The bill also waives statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO).
Additionally, the bill includes supplemental appropriations for natural disaster relief that is not subject to the budget caps. Congress has been unable to complete meaningful reforms on expiring federal programs and is instead ramming everything through on two gigantic last-minute spending bills. The spending levels of this bill will accommodate a deficit of over $1 trillion for FY2020.
Though many Members feel that a robust defense budget is required to maintain military readiness and national security, a large threat to our defense and national security remains the national debt, and a Defense Business Board report showed $125 billion in administrative waste in Pentagon business operations. A moment of reckoning will be upon Members when net interest payments exceed our defense budget in just a few years.
Last month, Club for Growth warned Members of Congress against passing a 4-week Continuing Resolution that expired on December 20th because it would back up Members of Congress against a deadline that was certain to force Senators and Representatives into supporting a last-minute deal before Christmas. Members of Congress can probably find provisions they support within the thousands of pages of legislation in the Double-Decker Bus. However, full consideration of this massive piece of legislation should alarm Members of Congress and force them to realize they have abdicated their legislative authority to the Appropriations Committees and Congressional Leadership.
The bill also includes a provision to bailout pensions for thousands of coal miners. This is in essence, an earmark to Members that have fiercely advocated for the pension bailout.
On the bright side, the legislation repeals the Cadillac tax, the 2.3 percent Medical Device Tax, and a health insurance fee. These Obamacare-era taxes have caused health care costs to skyrocket and their repeal is welcomed, although an appropriations bill should not be the legislative vehicle to repeal these taxes. A better course of action would be repealing these Obamacare taxes along with Obamacare’s spending.
Club for Growth Foundation’s Congressional Scorecard for the 116th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to the public.
Vote Results
Club Position
No
Required for Majority
1/2
Vote Results
Motion Agreed to
Vote Number
428
Vote Date
December 19, 2019
Vote Counts
YEAs:
81
NAYs:
11
Not Voting:
8
Lamar Alexander
TN
R
Yea
Tammy Baldwin
WI
D
Yea
John Barrasso
WY
R
Yea
Michael Bennet
CO
D
Yea
Marsha Blackburn
TN
R
Yea
Richard Blumenthal
CT
D
Yea
Roy Blunt
MO
R
Yea
Cory Booker
NJ
D
Abs
John Boozman
AR
R
Yea
Mike Braun
IN
R
Nay
Sherrod Brown
OH
D
Yea
Richard Burr
NC
R
Abs
Maria Cantwell
WA
D
Yea
Shelley Moore Capito
WV
R
Yea
Benjamin Cardin
MD
D
Yea
Thomas Carper
DE
D
Nay
Robert Casey
PA
D
Yea
Bill Cassidy
LA
R
Yea
Susan Collins
ME
R
Yea
Christopher Coons
DE
D
Yea
John Cornyn
TX
R
Yea
Catherine Cortez Masto
NV
D
Yea
Tom Cotton
AR
R
Yea
Kevin Cramer
ND
R
Yea
Mike Crapo
ID
R
Yea
Ted Cruz
TX
R
Nay
Steve Daines
MT
R
Yea
Tammy Duckworth
IL
D
Yea
Richard Durbin
IL
D
Yea
Michael Enzi
WY
R
Yea
Joni Ernst
IA
R
Yea
Dianne Feinstein
CA
D
Yea
Deb Fischer
NE
R
Yea
Cory Gardner
CO
R
Yea
Kirsten Gillibrand
NY
D
Nay
Lindsey Graham
SC
R
Yea
Chuck Grassley
IA
R
Yea
Kamala Harris
CA
D
Abs
Maggie Hassan
NH
D
Yea
Josh Hawley
MO
R
Nay
Martin Heinrich
NM
D
Yea
Mazie Hirono
HI
D
Yea
John Hoeven
ND
R
Yea
Cindy Hyde-Smith
MS
R
Yea
James Inhofe
OK
R
Yea
Johnny Isakson
GA
R
Abs
Ron Johnson
WI
R
Yea
Doug Jones
AL
D
Yea
Tim Kaine
VA
D
Yea
John Kennedy
LA
R
Yea
Angus King
ME
I
Yea
Amy Klobuchar
MN
D
Abs
James Lankford
OK
R
Yea
Patrick Leahy
VT
D
Yea
Mike Lee
UT
R
Nay
Joe Manchin
WV
D
Yea
Edward Markey
MA
D
Nay
Mitch McConnell
KY
R
Yea
Martha McSally
AZ
R
Yea
Robert Menendez
NJ
D
Yea
Jeff Merkley
OR
D
Nay
Jerry Moran
KS
R
Yea
Lisa Murkowski
AK
R
Yea
Christopher Murphy
CT
D
Yea
Patty Murray
WA
D
Yea
Rand Paul
KY
R
Abs
David Perdue
GA
R
Yea
Gary Peters
MI
D
Yea
Rob Portman
OH
R
Yea
Jack Reed
RI
D
Yea
Jim Risch
ID
R
Yea
Pat Roberts
KS
R
Yea
Mitt Romney
UT
R
Yea
Jacky Rosen
NV
D
Yea
Mike Rounds
SD
R
Yea
Marco Rubio
FL
R
Yea
Bernie Sanders
VT
I
Abs
Ben Sasse
NE
R
Yea
Brian Schatz
HI
D
Yea
Chuck Schumer
NY
D
Nay
Tim Scott
SC
R
Yea
Rick Scott
FL
R
Yea
Jeanne Shaheen
NH
D
Yea
Richard Shelby
AL
R
Yea
Krysten Sinema
AZ
D
Yea
Tina Smith
MN
D
Yea
Debbie Stabenow
MI
D
Yea
Dan Sullivan
AK
R
Yea
Jon Tester
MT
D
Yea
John Thune
SD
R
Yea
Thom Tillis
NC
R
Yea
Pat Toomey
PA
R
Yea
Tom Udall
NM
D
Yea
Chris Van Hollen
MD
D
Nay
Mark Warner
VA
D
Yea
Elizabeth Warren
MA
D
Abs
Sheldon Whitehouse
RI
D
Yea
Roger Wicker
MS
R
Yea
Ron Wyden
OR
D
Nay
Todd Young
IN
R
Yea