Mid-Michigan U.S. Reps vote ‘yes’ on funding package

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Federal lawmakers from mid-Michigan returned a “yes” vote on the new budget package that became law this Saturday, March 23.

President Joe Biden signed the new, $1.2 trillion government spending package early on Saturday, six months into the current budget year, eliminating the long-standing threat of a partial government shutdown.

The U.S. House of Representatives had passed the legislation Friday morning by a vote of 286-134, with House Republicans going against it by a vote of 101-112.

House Democrats, meanwhile, voted in favor of the bill by a tally of 185-22.

Among mid-Michigan lawmakers, however, the budget bill received a yes vote from Democratic and Republican Representatives alike.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich. 7th Dist.), Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich. 2nd Dist.) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich. 5th Dist.) each returned a “yes” vote on the new spending package.

In an email to 6 News, Rep. Walberg made the following statement in regard to his “yes” vote:

“The budget bill today reflects the realities of a divided government and compromise. We must do more to rein in federal spending, but this bill helps move us in the right direction. It claws back COVID funds and shifts spending from misplaced political priorities to increasing the pay of our troops and efforts to secure our border. This bill was far from perfect, but it protected important conservative priorities while keeping the government open. If we had not split earlier in this process, we would have had a much stronger bill for America’s taxpayers and domestic security.”

The spending package cleared the Democratic-led U.S. Senate by a 74-24 vote after midnight Saturday. The U.S. Senators from Michigan, Democrats Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, also voted in favor of the package.

The president soon after signed the legislation at his Wilmington, Delaware home.

“This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted,” Biden said in a statement. “But it rejects extreme cuts from House Republicans and expands access to child care, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance use care, advances American leadership abroad, and provides resources to secure the border. …That’s good news for the American people.”

Congress passes first package of spending bills just hours before shutdown deadline for key agencies

The first package of full-year spending bills, which funded the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture and the Interior, among others, cleared Congress two weeks ago with just hours to spare before funding expired for those agencies. The second covered the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State, as well as other aspects of general government.

When combining the two packages, discretionary spending for the budget year will come to about $1.66 trillion. That does not include programs such as Social Security and Medicare, or financing the country’s rising debt.

On Ukraine aid, which Biden and his administration have argued was critical and necessary to help stop Russia’s invasion, the package provided $300 million under the defense spending umbrella. That funding is separate from a large assistance package for Ukraine and Israel that is bogged down on Capitol Hill.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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