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Reps vote against there own spending bill after dems add transgender amendment

LGBT fight dooms spending bill on House floor

An energy and water spending bill failed on the House floor Thursday after a Democratic amendment ensuring protections for the LGBT community was included in the legislation, in the continuation of a fight could endanger the rest of the appropriations process this session.

Members on Wednesday night adopted a Democratic amendment to the 2017 energy and water spending bill that would enforce a 2014 executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The House dramatically voted down a similar amendment last week, when GOP leaders persuaded enough Republicans to switch sides so that it failed by a single vote.
Most Democrats voted against the spending bill due to spending levels and policy riders. Taken together with Republicans who opposed the inclusion of the LGBT measure, the legislation didn’t have enough votes to pass Thursday.

It failed 112-305, with 130 Republicans — more than half of the House GOP caucus — joining all but six Democrats to sink the Energy Department spending bill.

House GOP leaders may still try to bring spending bills to the floor. But they may start considering them under a more limited process that prevents lawmakers of either party from offering unlimited amendments.

Asked whether the House can pass more spending bills this year, Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said, “I think so, yeah,” adding that closing down the open amendment process “will be considered.

“We’ll adapt to the circumstances and move on.”

The bill’s failure Thursday marks the second time in two weeks lawmakers waged very public fights over LGBT policies on the House floor.

Seven Republicans last week changed their position during a roll call vote to block a similar LGBT amendment offered by openly gay Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.).

The seven Republicans accused by Democrats of switching their votes under pressure from GOP leaders a week ago — Reps. Jeff Denham (Calif.), David Valadao (Calif.), David Young (Iowa), Darrell Issa (Calif.), Mimi Walters (Calif.), Greg Walden (Ore.) and Bruce Poliquin (Maine) — all supported the Maloney amendment late Wednesday night. None of the seven denied changing their votes last week.

Young and Poliquin face particularly tough re-election fights this fall and came under fire back in their districts for switching sides.

Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) offered a counter-amendment that modified Maloney's proposal so that it ensured adherence to that First Amendment, 14th Amendment and Article I of the Constitution.

In addition, the House adopted amendments late Wednesday from Reps. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.) and Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.) to ensure religious freedom and prohibit the Obama administration from withholding federal funds from North Carolina over its controversial transgender bathroom law.

But those GOP measures weren't enough to save the underlying bill.

Democrats tore into the GOP for the maneuver. After adopting the Maloney measure Thursday, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Republicans had otherwise “chosen to engage in a systematic campaign of discrimination against LGBT Americans” and “should be ashamed of themselves.”

The $37.5 billion bill provides funding for the Department of Energy and water programs within the federal government. It was the second spending bill to the House floor this year, but leadership aides told The Hill on Thursday the continued LGBT spat puts the rest of this year's appropriations process in jeopardy.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told Republicans in a closed-door conference meeting Thursday morning that the fight over amendments is a consequence of the "regular order" and open process that lawmakers said they wanted, according to sources in the room.

Republicans began to turn on each other in the conference meeting. Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), a member of the hard-line Freedom Caucus, blasted centrist lawmakers for the "sweet irony" that they want "compassion for voting your conscience, but you call for our heads when we do."


http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/281358-lgbt-fight-dooms-spending-bill-on-house-floor