Friday, September 20, 2013

Houses passes stopgap budget that defunds Obamacare

The House passed a short-term spending plan Friday morning that would continue funding government operations through mid-December and withhold funding for President Obama’s signature health-care law, the opening salvo in what promises to be a contentious 10 days of debate on Capitol Hill over extending government operations by only three months.

The legislation would fund federal agencies at an annualized rate of more than $986 billion but would also leave in place automatic spending cuts known as sequestration, set to take effect in January. It would include language to prohibit any funding going to implementing the health-care law and, additionally, authorize the Treasury to pay some bills and not others in the event that no deal is reached in October on increasing the debt limit.

Lawmakers voted 230 to 189 to send the stopgap funding measure to the Senate, where Democrats vow to strip the health-care provisions from the bill and send it back to the House.

Congress must pass a new short-term budget agreement by Sept. 30 or risk shutting down the federal government.


Read more!

No comments: