House passes $49.9 billion spending cut package

Despite a tremendous buildup before the vote early this morning, the $49.9 billion reconciliation spending cut package practically breezed through the House during a 27-minute vote which, unlike the two hours of raucous debate beforehand, had few dramatic moments.

Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, who was visibly unhappy, cast the deciding vote before the bill passed 217-215. Barton said he did not support the package after a provision allowing oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was stripped from the bill.

Barton huddled with Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, the former majority leader, in the back corner of the floor during the vote before DeLay followed him down the aisle to cast his vote. Barton was booed and jeered by Democrats before his vote, and applauded and cheered by Republicans afterward.

Barton's dissatisfaction highlights just one of the many problems that House-Senate conferees will face in getting a spending reconciliation package out of conference that both chambers can pass. When asked after the vote if the House would seek a conference report that included ANWR, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said, "Right now anything I would say would be speculation ... I'm going to let that go."

But Hastert conceded that passing the reconciliation package took a tremendous amount of negotiation. "We had a group of moderates and a group of conservatives and a group of members with energy interests and what we had to do was balance the bill so we could pass it," Hastert said.

A total of 14 Republicans voted against the bill -- Reps. Tim Johnson of Illinois, Walter Jones of North Carolina, Jim Leach of Iowa, Christopher Shays of Connecticut, Chris Smith of New Jersey, Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania, Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, John McHugh and John Sweeney of New York, Bob Ney of Ohio, Ron Paul of Texas, Jim Ramstad of Minnesota, Rob Simmons of Connecticut, and Heather Wilson of New Mexico.

House GOP leaders also face the uphill task of keeping a conference report within a net savings range of $50 billion -- a figure the Senate is less likely to support -- or they could face trouble from conservatives who have been unyielding on that dollar figure in order to offset Hurricane Katrina costs.

Conservatives were already rankled this week over what some said were too many concessions to their moderate counterparts. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., a co-chairman of the moderate Tuesday Group, told reporters earlier Friday that moderates supported the bill 28-8.

"We are social moderates, but we are fiscal conservatives and this was fiscally conservative," Kirk said.

Coming off a tough energy vote several weeks ago, and an embarrassing floor defeat Thursday on the Labor-HHS appropriations conference report, GOP leaders were able to switch some "no" votes relatively easily to take political ammunition away from House Democrats.

Within minutes of casting his vote, Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio, switched his position after huddling with GOP leaders. "They indicated that we need to govern," LaTourette said. "As lousy as I thought this product was, we're in the majority ... leadership is telling me it'll get better, so we'll see."

The GOP leadership team -- particularly Majority Whip Blunt, who is acting majority leader -- have been under heavy scrutiny for how it moved the package forward. The vote was Blunt's first major victory while serving in his dual leadership role. "Many people said they couldn't do it. Many people said their careers, or the future of the majority rested on whether or not this vote would pass -- well it did," said Budget Chairman Nussle.

The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy expressing strong support for the package, with only minor disagreements, such as new opposition to increases in deposit insurance coverage limits, proposed District of Columbia land sales, and new fees on companies filing applications for employment-based visas for reasons other than immigration.