House Republicans on Wednesday night succeeded in passing three measures to reopen various parts of the government, following a failure to approve them on Tuesday. GOP lawmakers also voted to override, 230-194, a Democratic attempt to force a vote on a "clean" short-term continuing resolution that would have put moderate Republicans on the record — and potentially would have proved that there were enough votes for a policy-rider-free CR to pass the chamber. "You know if we had the vote tonight, it would pass," shouted House Budget Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen in opposition to the ruling that the Maryland Democrat's motion to recommit was out of order because it was not germane. Though the bill to cover operations in the District of Columbia passed by voice vote, votes on a bill to fund the National Institutes of Health and one to fund national parks, monuments and museums fell mostly along party lines, passing 254-171 and 252-173, respectively. On the national parks bill, Rep. Don Young of Alaska was the only Republican to vote against the measure, while 23 Democrats voted for it. But Senate Democrats have indicated those proposals will not pass the upper chamber. House and Senate Democrats have been united around the idea that the House GOP's mini-CR strategy is no substitute for a "clean" CR to fund the whole government, which has been shuttered since Tuesday. (more…)
