This Week in Congress

The House was in session Monday through Wednesday. The most significant vote was approving the $19.2 billion disaster supplemental. The bill passed by a vote of 354-58. Every Democrat and 132 Republicans voted for it; 58 Republicans voted no.

You can see the vote here.

For more on the disaster bill see here.

On Monday, the Senate rejected Kentucky Senator Rand Paul’s “Penny Plan” by a vote of 69-21. As the name suggests, Senator Paul’s plan balances the budget by cutting two cents out of every dollar the federal government spent in FY2019. It also makes the 2017 tax cuts permanent and expands access to Health Savings Accounts.

But cutting spending by a couple of pennies is too much for Congress.

The vote on the Penny Plan is here.

Watch Senator Paul’s speech on the plan here.

The House also voted on H.R. 6, legislation forbidding the ”dreamers”— those brought to this country illegally — from being  deported. The bill also allows dreamers to become citizens if they complete two years of college or serve in the military for two years.

Here is the roll-call vote. Seven Republicans joined every Democrat in voting for the  bill.

Here is a good piece by Brian Darling on the disaster bill and Senator Paul’s budget.

The House  also considered a number of bills under suspension of the rules, including:

1. H.R. 2940—Reauthorizes the block grant for needy families program. The bill passed by a vote of 357-55. Roll call vote here.

2. H.R. 1261—Establishes a National Landslides Hazards Reduction program to help mitigate risks from landslides. Another example of federal government assuming people cannot handle any challenge without federal help. Bill passed by voice vote.