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They say in business never to negotiate against yourself...but it seems that’s exactly what Republicans did with the so-called immigration compromise bill (H.R. 6136). It came back to the floor today for a vote, and I voted against it as it remained a watered-down version of the more conservative original Goodlatte bill (HR 4670) that I had supported last week.
Under the category of catching up on legislative votes, the House voted again on the Farm Bill last week. It passed, 213 to 211, and I joined 19 Republicans to vote against it. In this case, they picked up tem additional Republican votes, which was enough to put it over the top in this attempt.
The House Budget Committee spent Wednesday and Thursday “marking up” the 2019 House Budget Resolution. These “markups” typically involve long days and multiple votes on amendments…but all of this is irrelevant when measured against the whole of the importance of a budget.
It’s been another most interesting day here on Capitol Hill.
I’ve had a lot of colleagues coming up to me based on the president’s different comments of this week and subsequent tweets...but I’ll leave that issue alone for now, and accordingly, I just wanted to write on the immigration bill that came before us this afternoon.
Under the category of still catching up with votes from last week, I wanted to mention H.R. 3249. It would provide the Justice Department with money for grants in support of state and local efforts to combat violent crime under a program called Project Safe Neighborhoods. The bill passed 394 to 13, and I joined 12 of my Republican colleagues in voting against the bill.
Today, the House voted on H.R. 2851, which passed 239 to 142, and I was among those who voted no. In simplest form, the bill would grant the Attorney General sole authority to list new substances on the federal schedule of illegal drugs.
If something is done, do you need to redouble your efforts in doing it again?
The House voted earlier this week on the president’s rescissions package. It passed, 210 to 206, and I voted for it.