House passes Republican budget for FY 2011 in 235-189 vote

Republicans passed a $1.2 trillion dollar budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 at 4:39 a.m. Saturday, after having debated scores of amendments the last week, often late into the night.

The bill passed in a 235-189 party line vote. Three Republicans voted against and no Democrats voted for the bill, which would cut $62 billion in non-defense discretionary spending compared to the budget bill that the government is currently operating under.

As debate on the budget wore on, it became clear that Republicans were using the bill for more than just cutting spending. Many members used their amendments to deliver a rebuke to the Obama administration's greatest legislative victories and as a referendum on a government and its regulations that they believe have become to large and powerful.

Nearly one dozen amendments, for example, attempted to defund one or more aspects of Obama's landmark healthcare law. Other amendments sought to strip power from agencies controlled by the White House, like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and to undermine organizations aligned with Democratic causes, like Planned Parenthood.

Despite House passage, the bill's future appears dim. The Democrat-controlled Senate has said it will reject the bill's deep spending cuts, which means a short-term spending bill will likely be needed before the current spending bill expires on March 4.

Just before the final vote, the House rejected language that would repeal a requirement that federally funded construction projects pay prevailing wage rates. More than 40 Republicans joined all the Democrats in a 189-233 vote against that proposal, which was sponsored by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

By voice vote, the House accepted an amendment from Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) that would block funding for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which was established under last year's healthcare law. Hayworth argued that the IPAB would be tasked with lowering Medicare costs, but would do so by reducing payments to hospitals, shutting off access to care.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) downplayed this as one of several duplicative votes held Friday to defund implementation of the healthcare law.

The final amendment debated was from Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) that would have replaced H.R. 1 with new language cutting another $14 billion. However, LaTourette withdrew that amendment after debate. Earlier in the day, the House voted against a separate proposal to cut $22 billion more than H.R. 1.