{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/us-senate-approves-11-trillion-government-funding-bill", "US Senate Approves $1.1 Trillion Government Funding Bill", "2014-12-13", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Mazie Hirono", "H001042", "www.hirono.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "US Senate Approves $1.1 Trillion Government Funding Bill\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n                \r\n                But Hirono of Hawaii joins Democrats Warren and Levin as well as Republicans Cruz, Rubio and Paul in voting \"no.\"\r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                \r\n                    By:\u00a0\r\n                    Chad Blair\r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                \r\n                \r\n                \r\n            Saturday, December 13, 2014\r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            The federal government will remain funded through next September, assuming President Barack Obama signs the $1.1 trillion spending bill approved by the U.S. Senate late Saturday evening in Washington, D.C.\r\nThe vote was 56-40, which came after\u00a0surviving a lopsided cloture vote that cut off debate on the legislation. Obama has indicated he will sign the measure, despite strong objections from members of his own party.\r\nThe same measure was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday in a 219-206 vote that saw Hawaii\u2019s two representatives, Colleen Hanabusa and Tulsi Gabbard, voting \u201cno\u201d\u00a0because of objections\u00a0regarding the bill\u2019s roll back of regulations on Wall Street and the allowing of increased contributions to political parties.\r\nIn the Senate, Hawaii\u2019s senators split, with Brian Schatz voting for the measure and Mazie Hirono voting against it.\r\nIn voting \u201cno,\u201d Hirono cited the same objections as\u00a0her Hawaii House colleagues. She was among the 22 Democrats who voted against the measure, including\u00a0Elizabeth Warren (of Massachusetts), Carl Levin (Michigan) and Al Franken (Minnesota).\r\n\r\n\u201cThe price of funding government programs for only one year should not be permanent changes to laws that will have lasting impacts on working families for years to come and that is why I could not in good conscience support this bill,\u201d Hirono said in a statement after the vote. \u201cI respect the right of every Senator to vote his or her conscience on every difficult vote. And this was a difficult vote.\u201d\r\nHirono added, \u201cDespite the differences reflected in this vote, my hope is that we will go forward to do our work so that the outcomes will reflect clearly that we are on the side of working, everyday American people.\u201d\r\nLike Hirono, Republicans Ted Cruz (Texas), Rand Paul (Kentucky) and Marco Rubio (Florida)\u00a0also opposed the funding bill.\r\nCruz, Rubio and Paul\u00a0are among the GOP candidates who have expressed strong interest in running for president in 2016. Warren, meanwhile, is the darling of left-leaning Democrats that want her to run for president, too, even though Hillary Clinton is widely viewed as the frontrunner. Warren has thus far said she is not interested.\r\nAlso voting against the bill\u00a0was\u00a0Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and who is also weighing a presidential bid.\r\nAs the Hill Reports about\u00a0the dramatic vote, \u201cThe debate exposed divisions within the Democratic and Republican caucuses on both sides of the Capitol and sets the stage what could be a year of internecine squabbling in 2015.\u201d\r\nHirono stood by her \u201cno\u201d vote.\r\n\u201cImportant government programs that support our families and communities should not be held hostage to get permanent changes to laws that undermine the middle class. This bill revises pension laws in a way that breaks a longstanding commitment to retirees and working people,\u201d she said in a press release. \u201cIn Hawaii this change could impact some 37,000 union members and their families. This bill waters down hard-fought limits on Wall Street recklessness and lifts the ceiling for political contributions to parties at a time when the flood of big money in our democracy is a matter of national outrage.\u201d\r\nRead the entire piece at: http://www.civilbeat.com/2014/12/us-senate-approves-1-1-trillion-government-funding-bill/.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/us-senate-approves-11-trillion-government-funding-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1791349388659, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}