U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, was one of 82 members in the U.S. House to vote against a spending package that would keep the federal government open Wednesday.
Hageman said in a press release she voted against the short-term spending bill because it increases government spending and did not include provisions she believes will prevent illegal voters from voting in America’s elections. The continuing resolution passed by a 341-82 vote in the House and 78-18 vote in the U.S. Senate.
“I heard from constituents across Wyoming who made clear there should be no consideration of a continuing resolution without protecting our elections,” she said. "CRs are bad fiscal policy that prevent Congress from addressing real substantive issues while also failing to curb excessive spending."
Both Wyoming Republican U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis voted in favor of the CR.
“The people of Wyoming expect their government to remain open and working for them," Barrasso told Cowboy State Daily. "This legislation keeps our national parks open and ensures Wyoming troops continue to get a paycheck.
“After multiple assassination attempts on President Trump, this legislation provides the Secret Service with resources it needs to keep our presidential candidates and their families safe.”
Lummis had a similar reasoning.
“Government shutdowns are bad for Wyoming,” she said. “I voted in favor of the continuing resolution to ensure our service men and women continue to get a paycheck, our national parks, which keep Wyoming’s economy strong, remain open and federal services that people in Wyoming rely on remain open as Congress continues work on appropriations bills.
"Between now and December, I will work to ensure fiscal sanity is restored as Congress crafts legislation to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.”
What It Does
The legislation extends current funding levels through Dec. 20 and includes additional money for the U.S. Secret Service.
The stopgap measure is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk, who’s expected to sign it before the Sept. 30 deadline.
It includes more than $230 million in emergency money for the Secret Service in the wake of two failed assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump.
No Democrats voted against the measure in the House or Senate.
Hageman and the other Republicans who voted against the final bill also so did so because it didn’t include the SAVE Act, legislation she co-sponsored that would require states to obtain proof of citizenship in person when registering an individual to vote and require states to remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls.
The legislation was supported by Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray, but died in the House on a 220-202 standalone vote.
"Not only does this CR fail to include the SAVE Act, which is critical to protecting federal elections from illegal voting, but it increases spending beyond the bloated amounts that have put our country $35.4 trillion in debt,” Hageman said.
Johnson Deals
House Republicans like Louisiana Speaker Mike Johnson bypassed these objections by employing a procedural move that relied heavily on Democrats, a maneuver known as suspension of the rules that required a two-thirds majority vote.
“It would be political malpractive to shut the government down,” he said. “I think everyone understands that. And so we hope that this will get done quickly, and we get everybody back home to their districts to work into the campaign trail."
Although Johnson had originally supported including the SAVE Act in the CR, Democrats rejected those demands and were joined by some likeminded Republicans in the House last week who felt the same, according to The New York Times.
“It is a relief for the country that once again, bipartianship prevailed to stop another shutdown threat,” said Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York. “It took much longer than it should have, but because House Republicans finally — finally — chose to work with us in the end, Congress is getting the job done tonight.”
Johnson has continously relied on the support of the Democrats to avert government shutdowns since becoming speaker. A signficant number of House conservatives like Hageman are fundamentally opposed to legislation that does not make deep cuts to federal spending.
Merry Christmas
Hageman also pointed out that the new CR is set to expire Dec. 20, five days before Christmas.
The timing of that next vote, she said, will result in "reckless spending and even more bad policies.”
"The very tactic that we have decried for years — end of year massive omnibus spending designed to force a vote before the holidays — is once again standard operating procedure,” she said. "Americans deserve better.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
