CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a budget resolution related to a $3.5 trillion package addressing various social issues like health care and climate change.
The 220-212 vote followed lengthy negotiations among Democrats over the plan and a vote on the Senate’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. West Virginia’s three delegates — David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Carol Miller — joined their Republican colleagues in opposition to the resolution.
Lawmakers voted on the budget agreement as part of a larger resolution which additionally called for a vote on advancing voting rights legislation and committed the House to a vote on the infrastructure bill by Sept. 27.
The $3.5 trillion package is a key part of the Biden administration’s agenda that includes Medicaid expansion, universal pre-kindergarten, and funding for clean energy technologies. The sweeping proposal would be supported by tax increases affecting wealthy Americans and corporations.
McKinley criticized the sweeping proposal, which he called “grossly irresponsible and would harm West Virginia families and the country as a whole.”
“In 1996 President Bill Clinton proclaimed that the era of big government was over,” he said. “Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Washington Democrats have now decided to return to that tax and spend era. This massive expansion of government into our lives will be a disaster for West Virginia and for America and must be stopped.”
McKinley also criticized the inclusion of instructions to the Senate Judiciary Committee related to $107 billion for addressing border security and “lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants.”
“This plan has been called ‘transformative’ by Speaker Pelosi, and it would radically alter America’s economy into a European-style socialist system,” he added.
Mooney called the budget proposal “reckless.”
“This measure includes a wish-list of gifts for the radical left and proposes more spending than any other time in American history,” he tweeted.
“Congress needs to restore fiscal sanity, stop inflationary spending and live within its means. Continuing to print and spend trillions of dollars only harms hardworking Americans and devalues their money.”
Miller argued Congress should focus its attention on other issues before taking up the $3.5 trillion plan, such as the coronavirus or evacuation efforts related to military operations in Afghanistan.
“This legislation is chocked full of socialist policies that will kill American jobs, increase taxes on American families, and saddle future generations with the cost,” she said on Twitter.
As Democrats debate the $3.5 trillion measure, Republicans have stated opposition to raising the debt ceiling. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and 45 colleagues said Democrats would have to raise the amount of money the federal government can borrow by themselves. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Treasury Department will likely run out of funds in October or November if Congress fails to act.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has criticized the cost of the broad proposal over concerns about how spending could impact addressing future issues.
The House also passed voting legislation in a 219-212 vote; Democrats united to support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which is named after the Georgia congressman and civil rights leader who died in July 2020. McKinley, Mooney and Miller voted against the bill with their fellow Republicans.
The legislation would establish new criteria allowing the Justice Department and U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to review voting laws in states with multiple violations. The Supreme Court in 2013 ruled the formula of the 1965 Voting Rights Act was outdated and unconstitutional, but justice added lawmakers could update the formula.
Manchin has spoken in support of an update; he and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski sent a letter to legislative leaders asking for reauthorizing the existing voting law.
“Inaction is not an option. Congress must come together – just as we have done time and again – to reaffirm our longstanding bipartisan commitment to free, accessible, and secure elections for all,” the senators said in May.
Senate Republicans in June blocked a motion to open debate on a separate elections bill; the For the People Act includes provisions aimed at increasing voter options and ensuring voting access. Manchin opposed the For the People Act but voted to begin debate after Democrats agreed to insert language on voter ID and eliminate a section on public financing.