This Week in Congress: Update Votes on Raw Milk, Spending, and Torture

The House will finish debate on the farm bill today. Among the amendments still to be voted on is Thomas Massie’s amendment legalizing interstate shipments of raw milk between states that have legalized raw milk. Campaign for Liberty members still have time to call their Representatives and tell them to vote for the Massie amendment.

Yesterday, the Senate voted to reject Rand Paul’s plan to balance the budget by 2023. Senator Paul’s plan cut spending by $40.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2019 and $13.35 trillion over the next ten years—relative to the baseline, which means the plan still increases spending just not as much as the current plans call for.

Senator Paul achieves his reductions by cutting a penny from every dollar the federal government plans to spend. Even though the plan increases spending and only cuts a penny of every dollar, only 21 Senators voted for the plan. You can see the roll-call vote here.

The Senate also comfirmed Gina Haspel as CIA director, despite her involvement with “enhanced interrogation” (torture) and covering  up the government’s use of torture. Senators Rand Paul and Jeff Flake where the only Republicans to oppose her nomination. You can see the roll-call vote here.