{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://billjohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398361", "Budget bill reflects the reality of divided government", "2014-12-21", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Bill Johnson", "J000292", "billjohnson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "There's been much written and discussed about the recently passed \"Omnibus\" spending bill - legislation that funds each of the federal agencies - approved by bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate. Some of the criticism has been pointed and off-base. While far from perfect, the legislation reflects the reality of divided government, and takes positive steps toward making our federal government more fiscally responsible, effective, efficient and accountable to the American people.\r\nThe omnibus funds federal agencies through Sept. 30, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security, which is funded only through February. Contrary to some reports, the bill does not fully fund the president's executive order to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. Funding for the president's actions comes through DHS, and the reason DHS is only funded for approximately 60 days (all the other agencies are funded through next September), is to enable the next Congress (taking office in January with a Republican Senate majority) to address President Obama's executive action on immigration - an action I believe was beyond his Constitutional power.\r\nTwo of the most important components of this legislation are that, first, it establishes the lowest federal discretionary spending level in five years. Second, it eliminates the federal mandate to implement Common Core, thereby returning important education decisions to states, local school authorities, teachers and parents. These are positive steps forward.\r\nThe legislation provides important resources to our military, including: a pay raise for our troops; upgrades to the Navy's submarine fleet; prohibits the release of Guantanamo detainees into the U.S.; funds the fight against Ebola; and, pays for our efforts to combat the ISIL terrorist group and contains support for Ukraine.\r\nSome reports claim that the bill fully funds Obamacare. This is not true. In fact, the omnibus begins pushing back against Obamacare - an uphill climb given that the White House and the majority of the Senate are staunch supporters of it. For example, the \"Omnibus\" prohibits funds for Obamacare risk corridors, cuts the panel of Washington bureaucrats making medical decisions on the American people's behalf by $10 million, provides no new funding for Obamacare and requires the IRS to report to Congress on improper payments of Obamacare tax subsidies. I'll continue to fight to replace this costly, misguided law. In the meantime, this is progress.\r\nThe omnibus cuts the EPA's budget for the fifth year in a row - a 20 percent decrease since FY 2010. This takes the EPA to the lowest staffing levels since 1989, and will slow their efforts to destroy coal jobs and increase our energy costs. It also cuts the IRS by $345 million, which is $1.5 billion below the president's request for the agency. Are the cuts to either of these rogue agencies enough? No. Both need fundamental reform - from the ground up. But, living with the reality of divided government, these cuts represent steps in the right direction.\r\nHaving had careers in both the Air Force and the private sector before serving in the House, one of the most frustrating and eye-opening parts of my work on your behalf is dealing with entrenched Washington politicians - those dedicated to sacrificing the good at the altar of the perfect in an effort to make a name for themselves and protect their jobs. It's a practice that isn't compatible with a democratic republic, particularly one that has different parties in power that must work together to address the significant challenges that America faces.\r\nI'm reminded of what Ronald Reagan said when he was criticized by some of his friends for finding common ground solutions during his presidency. Reagan said \"(they) thought that if I couldn't get everything I asked for, I should jump off the cliff with the flag flying - go down in flames. No, if I can get 70 or 80 percent of what I'm trying to get ... I'll take that and then continue to try to get the rest in the future.\"\r\nWashington, D.C., has been dysfunctional for a long time; and, as a result of gridlock-induced inaction, America faces many serious challenges that are lined up like planes on a runway: Getting our economy moving, eliminating crippling regulations, reforming our tax code, our $18 trillion national debt, improving our public education, ISIL, Russia, China - this list goes on and on. These are big issues, and no politician or political party has all the answers to resolving them. As Americans, we're all in this together, and we're going to have to work together to solve them.", 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": ["http://billjohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398361"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.718248076736927, "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"}