Rep. Green Votes No on $1 Trillion Spending Bill Full of ‘Partisan Garbage’

 

U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) voted “no” Wednesday on a bill he said was full of “partisan garbage” that included funding for Planned Parenthood.

The House passed the H.R. 2740, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020.

Green tweeted, “Congressional Democrats jammed as much partisan garbage into this nearly $1 trillion spending package as possible. I voted NO.”

Congressional Democrats jammed as much partisan garbage into this nearly $1 trillion spending package as possible. I voted NO. pic.twitter.com/h7odAZljWw

— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) June 19, 2019

Green explained his no vote in a press release.

“Congressional Democrats jammed as much partisan garbage into this nearly $1 trillion spending package as possible. If passed into law, this minibus would force taxpayers to pay for abortions in the U.S. and even overseas, continue funding Planned Parenthood, pay for an earmark program, and send half a billion dollars in aid to foreign countries most responsible for illegal crossings and trafficking on our border. Democrats opted to include these programs at the expense of Department of Defense funding and border wall funding, falling short of President Trump’s budget request.

“Moreover, I am opposed to the sheer cost of this legislation. While President Trump requested a 24% cut, this division of appropriations bills would provide a 4.1% increase in spending. I was not sent to Washington to radically grow the size of government.

“Last, I am appalled that Democrats again refused the administration’s request to provide emergency funding to solve the urgent humanitarian crisis on our southern border. The HHS division in charge of taking care of unaccompanied children is set to run out of funds this month, and hundreds of thousands of migrants are still on their way. Time to put country over party and help the president solve this crisis.”

The 226-203 House vote to pass the $1 trillion omnibus bill had no Republican support and only seven Democrats voted against it, The Hill said. Those Democrats were: U.S. Reps. Denny Heck (WA-10), Ben McAdams (UT-04), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Collin Peterson (MN-07), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13).

Senate approval was not expected.

In a Tuesday night amendment vote, Democrats added language to block funds from being used to ban transgender people from serving in the military, The Hill said.

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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Mark Green” by Mark Green.