The United States House of Representatives has voted to advance a $1.2 trillion spending package ahead of the upcoming January 30 deadline to avert another government shutdown.
The three-bill package was supported by a coalition of 149 Democrats and 192 Republicans.
Funding included in this package will be going toward the Departments of Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, according to CBS News.
A separate measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was also approved by a bipartisan vote, albeit with a much slimmer margin of 220 to 207.
This bill was taken up on its own after many Democrats pushed back on its passage because it did not include extensive reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Reporting from CBS News revealed that while top Democratic appropriators believed that the final bill did not go as far as some in the party had hoped, they did secure a number of key items, including new training benchmarks for officers and $20 million for body cameras.
Also included by the House in this funding legislation was an amendment that would repeal a controversial measure allowing senators to sue the federal government for a minimum of $500,000 if their phones were searched without their knowledge.
Because there is not enough time for the Senate to reverse course on this move before the shutdown deadline, lawmakers in the upper chamber will effectively be forced to approve the provision’s repeal.
These funding bills are expected to be grouped together in the Senate which, according to national reporting, is expected to speed up the approval process in the upper chamber.
Maine’s Rep. Jared Golden (D) was among the group of Democrats in the House to vote in support of the funding legislation and allowing it to move on to the Senate for approval.
In a statement shared this Thursday, Rep. Golden explained the reasoning behind his decision to support the spending package.
“Passing a budget is our primary responsibility in Congress and I’m proud to have supported this package of spending bills, which will provide some measure of relief for Americans dealing with a high cost of living by increasing funding for child care and Head Start and by funding important rental assistance programs and initiatives to combat homelessness,” Golden said.
“Meanwhile, the Defense appropriation continues our commitment to shipbuilding at Bath Iron Works and to our service members, with nearly $2 billion to support the DDG program and a much-needed 3.8 percent pay increase for military personnel,” said Golden.
Maine’s Second District representative was also among the few Democrats to vote in support of the DHS funding bill.
“Failure to fund DHS would undermine public safety and emergency response services. To me, that was never an option,” he explained.
“By engaging in the process, rather than blocking it, we secured funding for body cameras and de-escalation training — two proven tactics embraced by law enforcement agencies across the country — that I believe will support responsible law enforcement and begin to restore trust,” Golden said.
