GOP conservatives wary as package lacks offsetting cuts
Republicans on the House Budget Committee advanced a $95 billion package Thursday for the conflict in Iran, farm aid and President Donald Trump’s push for strict new voter ID requirements, moving forward on a party-line vote despite opposition from Democrats, the Associated Press reported.
House Republicans are divided over the plan, with conservatives wary because the spending is not offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget, according to the AP. GOP leadership is pushing the package forward through the budget reconciliation process, which would allow the Senate to bypass a Democratic filibuster with a simple majority.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee, described the package as “just bullets and bombs to finish the job,” according to the AP.
Democrats argued the money should be spent on domestic priorities rather than on military operations abroad.
“Republicans plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on Trump’s failed war in Iran,” Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said this week, according to the AP. “Think about what we could spend with these resources instead.”
The package includes funding for defense, intelligence, farm assistance, and state voter-ID requirements, according to reports.