In The News

Why I Voted To Prevent A Government Shutdown

By Rep. Bill Huizenga
 
There has been a lot of misinformation being spread about the latest bipartisan government funding bill that passed the House on Thursday night, and I wanted to take a few minutes to explain why I ultimately supported the bill.

The funding bill known officially as, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act for FY 2015, passed the House of Representatives 219-206. This bill fully funds the federal government, except the Department of Homeland Security, through the end of September.  The Department of Homeland Security is funded until the end of February.  

The reason there are two different timetables for funding the federal government is we know the Senate, as it currently stands, will not consider holding the President accountable for his announced executive actions.  This bill keeps the government running while setting up a direct challenge to President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, after Republicans take control of the Senate and expand our majority in the House.

Some opponents of the bill claim that it funds the President's proposed unconstitutional executive actions; however, this bill does not fund illegal activity - it funds the law as written. If the President's executive action is implemented on February 18, 2015, as is currently planned, he will be misusing funds that were intended for a legal purpose.  It is also important to note that I supported the Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act. This bill prohibits the President from exempting or deferring from removal individuals who under the immigration laws are not legally present in the United States. This legislation passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 232-191. 

The debate over the President’s executive action is far from over.  A Republican-led Congress has a better chance of holding the President accountable for his power grab than the Republican-led House of Representatives acting alone.

In terms of funding, this bipartisan bill remains consistent with the budget negotiated by Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray, spends less than the most conservative budget put forward by Republicans when we regained the House majority in 2011, and returns discretionary spending to levels lower than when President Obama first took office. The drivers of the nation’s spending and debt come from programs that are on “auto pilot,” such as ObamaCare, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other mandatory spending programs.  This bill does not address mandatory spending and is precisely why a serious discussion must be had about reforming our nation’s entitlement programs.

By passing this bipartisan agreement on Thursday, the House was able to make conservative changes and updates to how, where, and when hard earned taxpayer dollars are spent. This includes provisions like the amendment I offered earlier this year to the Financial Services appropriations bill that slashes the IRS budget by $346 million. We were also able to cut $60 million in funding for the overreaching Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and block regulations that would hurt small businesses and destroy jobs in West Michigan and other communities across the nation.

In a divided government, compromise is necessary and no side gets everything it wants.  Do I want to cut more spending – definitely!  Do I want to see the President held accountable for his continued disregard for our constitution – absolutely! The reality of the situation is the House by itself cannot govern the country.  Americans from across the nation have made their voices heard and elected a Republican-led Senate.  Together we can get Washington working for not only West Michigan, but for families across the country.


 This op-ed appeared in the Holland Sentinel