by Alan Wooten
Just four of 17 members in Congress from Ohio opposed the $1.2 trillion spending bill given to taxpayers as law early Saturday.
Republican Sen. J.D. Vance and Republican Reps. Troy Balderson, Warren Davidson and Jim Jordan all said no in votes cast over Friday and early Saturday morning. Six House Republicans from Ohio cast a vote for the legislation.
President Joe Biden signed the second government funding mechanism into law before the sun rose. The Senate approved 74-24 a 1,012-page spending plan that was released about 48 hours earlier.
House passage on Friday was 286-134.
The spending package is central to federal operations involving defense; financial services and general government; homeland security; labor, health, human services, education and some other related agencies; the Legislative Branch; and state and foreign operations and some programs related to them.
In the Senate, Democrats were 47 yea, one nay; Republicans 25 yea, 22 nay; independents two yea, one nay. Two Republicans didn’t vote.
In the House, Democrats were 185 yea, 22 nay; Republicans 101 yea, 112 nay. Six Democrats and six Republicans didn’t vote.
Democrats voting for were Sen. Sherrod Brown and Reps. Greg Landsman, Joyce Beatty, Marcy Kaptur, Shontel Brown and Emilia Sykes. Also for it were Republican Reps. Mike Carey, David Joyce, Bob Latta, Max Miller, Michael Turner and Dr. Brad Wenstrup.
Of note, many senators said out loud that House members immediately leaving town after their vote for the two-week Easter vacation left them no choice but to pass what was in front of them with no amendments. Any amendments needing return to the House would have started the shutdown.
The first part of the nation’s funding through Sept. 30 was signed into law March 9. Total spending for the budget year that ends Sept. 30 is about $1.66 trillion, a figure that is sometimes called discretionary and does not include Social Security and Medicare among other programs.
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Alan Wooten is a managing editor at The Center Square.
Photo “Rep. Jim Jordan” by Rep. Jim Jordan; “Sen. JD Vance” by Sen. JD Vance; “Rep. Troy Balderson” by Rep. Troy Balderson; and “Rep Warren Davidson” is by Rep. Warren Davidson. Photo “US Capitol” is by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
