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
Lisa Murkowski
AK
R
Y
Dan Sullivan
AK
R
Y
Doug Jones
AL
D
Y
Richard Shelby
AL
R
Y
John Boozman
AR
R
Y
Tom Cotton
AR
R
Y
Martha McSally
AZ
R
Y
Kyrsten Sinema
AZ
I
Y
Dianne Feinstein
CA
D
Y
Kamala Harris
CA
D
A
Michael Bennet
CO
D
Y
Cory Gardner
CO
R
Y
Richard Blumenthal
CT
D
Y
Christopher Murphy
CT
D
Y
Thomas Carper
DE
D
N
Christopher Coons
DE
D
Y
Marco Rubio
FL
R
Y
Rick Scott
FL
R
Y
Johnny Isakson
GA
R
A
David Perdue
GA
R
Y
Mazie Hirono
HI
D
Y
Brian Schatz
HI
D
Y
Joni Ernst
IA
R
Y
Chuck Grassley
IA
R
Y
Mike Crapo
ID
R
Y
Jim Risch
ID
R
Y
Tammy Duckworth
IL
D
Y
Richard Durbin
IL
D
Y
Mike Braun
IN
R
N
Todd Young
IN
R
Y
Jerry Moran
KS
R
Y
Pat Roberts
KS
R
Y
Mitch McConnell
KY
R
Y
Rand Paul
KY
R
A
Bill Cassidy
LA
R
Y
John Kennedy
LA
R
Y
Edward Markey
MA
D
N
Elizabeth Warren
MA
D
A
Benjamin Cardin
MD
D
Y
Chris Van Hollen
MD
D
N
Susan Collins
ME
R
Y
Angus King
ME
I
Y
Gary Peters
MI
D
Y
Debbie Stabenow
MI
D
Y
Amy Klobuchar
MN
D
A
Tina Smith
MN
D
Y
Roy Blunt
MO
R
Y
Josh Hawley
MO
R
N
Cindy Hyde-Smith
MS
R
Y
Roger Wicker
MS
R
Y
Steve Daines
MT
R
Y
Jon Tester
MT
D
Y
Richard Burr
NC
R
A
Thom Tillis
NC
R
Y
Kevin Cramer
ND
R
Y
John Hoeven
ND
R
Y
Deb Fischer
NE
R
Y
Ben Sasse
NE
R
Y
Maggie Hassan
NH
D
Y
Jeanne Shaheen
NH
D
Y
Cory Booker
NJ
D
A
Robert Menendez
NJ
D
Y
Martin Heinrich
NM
D
Y
Tom Udall
NM
D
Y
Catherine Cortez Masto
NV
D
Y
Jacky Rosen
NV
D
Y
Kirsten Gillibrand
NY
D
N
Chuck Schumer
NY
D
N
Sherrod Brown
OH
D
Y
Rob Portman
OH
R
Y
James Inhofe
OK
R
Y
James Lankford
OK
R
Y
Jeff Merkley
OR
D
N
Ron Wyden
OR
D
N
Bob Casey
PA
D
Y
Pat Toomey
PA
R
Y
Jack Reed
RI
D
Y
Sheldon Whitehouse
RI
D
Y
Lindsey Graham
SC
R
Y
Tim Scott
SC
R
Y
Mike Rounds
SD
R
Y
John Thune
SD
R
Y
Lamar Alexander
TN
R
Y
Marsha Blackburn
TN
R
Y
John Cornyn
TX
R
Y
Ted Cruz
TX
R
N
Mike Lee
UT
R
N
Mitt Romney
UT
R
Y
Tim Kaine
VA
D
Y
Mark Warner
VA
D
Y
Patrick Leahy
VT
D
Y
Bernie Sanders
VT
I
A
Maria Cantwell
WA
D
Y
Patty Murray
WA
D
Y
Tammy Baldwin
WI
D
Y
Ron Johnson
WI
R
Y
Shelley Moore Capito
WV
R
Y
Joe Manchin
WV
D
Y
John Barrasso
WY
R
Y
Michael Enzi
WY
R
Y