House

The House on Thursday voted overwhelmingly against a resolution to adjourn, after Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-Ill.) requested adjournment in a likely protest against taking up the FY 2012 spending resolution.

The House voted 11-412 against adjournment, then proceeded to debate on the resolution and several amendments. Three Republicans and eight Democrats voted for adjournment.

Voting on the amendments is part of the budget deal, and both chambers split their votes along party lines.

The main part of the deal to avert a government shutdown moves to the White House for the president's signature.

"Is it perfect? No," the Speaker said before the vote. "I'd be the first one to admit that it's flawed."

The House approved a rule shortly after 1 p.m. allowing consideration of H.Con.Res. 34, the Republicans' FY 2012 budget resolution. The rule calls for four hours of debate and allows up to 30 minutes of debate on six substitute measures. Much of this debate and voting will occur late Thursday and Friday.

The rule was approved in a 243-181 vote. Five Democrats voted in favor of the rule, and no Republicans voted against it.

With adoption of the rule, the House turned to H.R. 1473, the FY 2011 spending agreement that was reached by Congress and the White House last Friday. The House will debate and vote on that bill and two related healthcare measures, then send the package to the Senate later in the day.

House Republicans launched Thursday's debate on the FY 2012 budget resolution by noting that the spending plan outlined by President Obama on Wednesday does not exist on paper, and thus will not be taken up as a viable alternative to the Republican plan.

"We keep hearing … about the president's wonderful mulligan budget that he offered yesterday, but I don't believe it's going to be offered on the floor of the House," Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) said early in the debate, referring to Obama's second cut at a budget proposal.

"He's not offering a budget," Kingston added. "What he did was give a speech. Now the president is kind of becoming the spectator in chief, or the speaker in chief."

The Republican is reacting to video footage of a six-year-old girl being searched by a TSA official.

The House returns Thursday morning with the heavy task of passing a budget for fiscal 2011, and beginning consideration of the 2012 budget resolution.

On the current year budget, the House passed the rule for this bill on Wednesday, and will debate the bill, H.R. 1473, for one hour before voting.

The House will also debate and vote on two resolutions: one that would amend the spending bill to defund the healthcare law, and another that would amend the bill to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Members of the House Republican Study Committee (RSC) this week will press for steeper cuts than those found in House Budget Committee Paul Ryan's FY 2012 budget resolution, and have put forward one of several substitute amendments that will be considered Thursday or Friday. The RSC substitute amendment may once again test the ability of Republican leaders to maintain support for Ryan's proposal, and fend off a more conservative option.

A substitute amendment from RSC member Scott Garrett (R-NJ) was made in order by the House Rules Committee on Wednesday night, and thus will be allowed to compete with Ryan's proposal and four others.

The House voted to terminate the Prevention and Public Health Fund, scheduled to receive nearly $18 billion in coming years.