[Peace-discuss] FW: House Approves Balanced Budget & 2 of 12 Spending Bills

[Karen Aram]

FYI
 



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May 3, 2015




Dear
Friend,


Last
week
the
House
got
to
work
on
the
FY2016
appropriations
process,
agreeing
to
a
balanced
budget
resolution
and
passing
two
of
twelve
annual
spending
bills.
I
voted
for
all
three:
the
House-Senate
budget
agreement
and
Military
Construction
-
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
funding
on
Thursday,
and
the
Energy
and
Water
appropriations
bill
on
Friday.




Our
budget
agreement
sets
a
number
of
priorities,
including
a
strong
national
defense,
a
sustainable
safety
net
for
seniors
and
a
growing
economy
that
creates
jobs. According
to
the
non-partisan
Congressional
Budget
Office,
it
would
expand
our
economy
by
$400
billion
over
10
years,
creating
an
estimated
1.2
million
more
jobs
by
2025.



Because
of
this
agreement,
we’re
also
now
set
up
to
use
a
process
called
‘budget
reconciliation.'
Reconciliation
is
a
powerful
legislative
tool
that
enables
Congress
to
fully
flex
its
power
of
the
purse
to
change
otherwise
mandatory
spending. 

Since
Obamacare
relies
mostly
on
mandatory
rather
than
discretionary
spending,
attempts
to
repeal
it
through
shutdowns
and
other
defunding
measures
have
fallen
short
in
the
past.
Budget
reconciliation,
however,
gives
the
Republican-controlled
House
and
Senate
our
best
opportunity
yet
to
dismantle
Obamacare
--
including
all
its
taxes,
regulations
and
mandates
--
later
this
year.



You
can
find
a
detailed
explanation
of
how
budget
reconciliation
works
HERE.




The
House
also
passed
two
of
the
twelve
annual
appropriations
bills
last
week.
These
bills
were
both
considered
under
what
the
House
calls
'open
rules.'
This
transparent
process
allows
any
Member
--
Republican
or
Democrat
--
to
offer
amendments
to
increase,
decrease
or
eliminate
funding
levels
set
by
the
bill. 

In
the
Military
Construction
-
VA
appropriations
bill,
the
House
boosted
funding
for
veterans
programs
by
$3.6
billion
--
5.6
percent
over
last
year.
This
bill
honors
the
promise
to
our
nation’s
heroes.
It
helps
accelerate
VA
claims
processing,
supports
the
effort
to
create
a
modern,
seamless
VA/Department
of
Defense
electronic
health
records
system,
and
implements
robust
oversight
measures
to
hold
VA
officials
accountable. 



In
the
Energy
and
Water
appropriations
bill,
also
approved
last
week,
the
House
provided
a
total
of
$35.4
billion
for
the
Army
Corp
of
Engineers,
the
Department
of
Energy
and
related
agencies.




This
bill
advances
a
truly
all-of-the-above
energy
strategy.
It
makes
strategic
investments
in
the
development
of
renewable
fuels
while
also
improving
the
safety
and
efficiency
of
fossil
fuels
Americans
rely
on
every
day.
It
also
rolls
back
job-killing
regulations
like
the
Administration’s
flawed
'Waters
of
the
U.S.'
rule
and
makes
important
investments
in
our
inland
waterways
infrastructure, and
makes
the
full
Inland
Waterways
Trust
Fund
revenues
available
for
navigation
projects. 

The
Senate
will
still
have
to
approve
the
budget
agreement
and
begin
their
own
consideration
of
the
12
spending
bills.
There's
a
long
way
to
go
but
we're
off
to
a
great
start.

Next
week
the
House
is
not
in
session
so
I'll
be
traveling
around
the
15th
District.
See
where
I'll
be
on
the
"events"
page
of
my
website:
shimkus.house.gov/about/events 

Thanks
for
reading
and
have
a
great
week! 

God
bless,  




John
Shimkus
Member
of
Congress













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