McConnell steers Republicans away from ObamaCare fights

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellGOP senator vows to slow-walk T infrastructure bill, sparking standoff McConnell urges Biden to withdraw embattled ATF nominee Addressing the health care worker shortages that made COVID-19 worse MORE has urged GOP colleagues in private to avoid distracting political fights, yielding a surprising ceasefire on labor and health issues, two of the bloodiest battlegrounds in Congress.   

For the first time in seven years, the Senate Appropriations Committee last week passed a bipartisan bill funding the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services. It’s the largest spending bill after the one for the Defense Department and a perennial source of partisan strife.

The bill is not likely to go anywhere because the House has slim chance of passing a Labor-HHS spending bill, but the drama-free passage was an important victory for McConnell, who has staked the Senate Republican majority on the argument that Republicans know how to govern.

“We went eight years in the minority and during that time we didn’t pass these bills and then the public’s outraged,” said Sen. Jim InhofeJames (Jim) Mountain InhofeOvernight Defense: Biden administration expands Afghan refugee program | Culture war comes for female draft registration | US launches third Somalia strike in recent weeks Up next in the culture wars: Adding women to the draft Gillibrand expects vote on military justice bill in fall MORE (R-Okla.). “Behind the closed doors of the conference, he emphasizes over and over again that he wants to keep the extraneous things off and do what people expect us to do.”

The full Senate is now poised to act on the Labor HHS bill, which hasn’t passed the chamber as a stand-alone measure since 2007.

Democrats have claimed victory, arguing Republicans had given up on their strategy of using Congress’s power of the purse to battle President Obama.

“Leader McConnell finally realized that the way to pass a spending bill like this is to push the Tea Party aside, surrender on policy riders and give Democrats the opportunity to invest in programs they care about,” a Senate Democratic aide said. 

The Labor and Health and Human Services spending bill hasn’t come close to passing the Senate in recent years because it routinely became bogged down in fights over policy riders affecting ObamaCare and labor issues. 

In 2013, the government shut down for 16 days because Republicans — led by freshman Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzRepublicans renew intraparty battle over trillion-dollar spending The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Infrastructure bill poised for Senate weekend vote Cruz rips GOP colleagues who are 'complicit' with Biden spending agenda MORE (R-Texas) — insisted on language that would have blocked the implementation of ObamaCare.

The government almost shut down again in 2015 because of a fight over funding Planned Parenthood, the same health-related issue that came within hours of causing a shutdown in 2011.

McConnell has worked closely with Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad CochranWilliam (Thad) Thad CochranBottom line Bottom line Alabama zeroes in on Richard Shelby's future MORE (R-Miss.) to keep riders from sinking spending bills before they get to the floor. 

“There’s a commitment between Leader McConnell and Chairman Cochran to move bills and get them to the floor. The leadership has been very helpful with floor time,” said a Senate GOP aide.

This year’s Labor-HHS bill does include a policy rider prohibiting the administration from using its appropriated funds to pay for ObamaCare’s risk corridor program, which reimburses insurances companies that suffer higher costs because of the healthcare law.

The bill also includes language that eliminates funding for the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which was included in ObamaCare to reduce the growth of Medicare. Republicans argue the board, which has never been created, would be tantamount to healthcare “rationing.” 

But both of those policy riders were part of last year’s omnibus spending deal and don’t represent new battles.

Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee declined to add riders to the bill that would have defunded or otherwise hobbled the healthcare law, officially known as the Affordable Care Act. 

The bill avoids add-ons to defund Planned Parenthood or reverse the new federal rules mandating overtime pay for salaried workers earning up to $47,476 per year. It also doesn’t take on new regulations that require retirement advisers to put their clients’ financial interests ahead of their own. 

It’s too early to know whether Senate Republicans under McConnell have given up entirely on using spending bills to legislate policy changes.

If Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonUS has opportunity to establish stronger economic ties with Laos Democratic senators increase pressure to declassify 9/11 documents related to Saudi role in attacks Stacey Abrams, Michelle Obama collaborating on voting rights push MORE is elected president in November, the practice may return with a vengeance.

McConnell’s wants to eschew paralyzing political fights because Republicans have to defend Senate seats in states President Obama won in 2008 and 2012. Appealing to moderate Democrats and independents could help endangered Sens. Kelly AyotteKelly Ann AyottePoll: Potential Sununu-Hassan matchup in N.H. a dead heat  Democrats facing tough reelections back bipartisan infrastructure deal Sununu seen as top recruit in GOP bid to reclaim Senate MORE (R-N.H.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Ron JohnsonRonald (Ron) Harold JohnsonSenate rejects GOP effort to add Trump border wall to bipartisan infrastructure deal Johnson suggests FBI knew more about Jan. 6 planning than has been revealed: report The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - White House, Dems play blame game over evictions MORE (R-Wis.), Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanThe Senate should support innovation and pass the Lummis-Wyden-Toomey amendment Republicans renew intraparty battle over trillion-dollar spending The "compromise" crypto amendment is no compromise at all MORE (R-Ohio) and Mark KirkMark Steven KirkDuckworth announces reelection bid Brave new world: Why we need a Senate Human Rights Commission  Senate majority battle snags Biden Cabinet hopefuls MORE (R-Ill.) win reelection. 

He may take a different approach ahead of 2018 mid-term election when the battlegrounds will be in red states and the electorate likely more conservative. 

The early winner from this year’s deal on labor and health spending may be Rep. Roy BluntRoy Dean BluntSenate braces for days-long infrastructure slog  Biden signs bill awarding Congressional Gold Medal to Jan. 6 officers Missouri Rep. Billy Long enters Senate GOP primary MORE (R.), a member of McConnell’s leadership team who faces a tough reelection race in Missouri.

Blunt, the chairman of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, teamed up with Sen. Patty MurrayPatricia (Patty) Lynn MurrayCornyn cuts a deal with White House on COVID-19 money for infrastructure White House trying to beat back bipartisan Cornyn infrastructure amendment The infrastructure bill creates more need for workforce training MORE (Wash.), the ranking Democrat, to produce a bill without new controversial riders. He also worked with Murray last month to craft a compromise amendment allocated $1.1 billion in emergency funds to combat the Zika virus.

These deals will allow Blunt to make the case in his race against Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander that he has a record of getting things done in Washington.

The Labor-HHS bill eliminates 18 programs to help increase funding for the National Institutes of Health by $2 billion. It also restores year-round Pell Grants to allow students to use federal aid for summer sessions. 

Blunt noted the legislation includes the riders Obama agreed to as part of last year’s omnibus deal.

“We just didn’t put any new riders in. It wasn’t easy but there’s real sense for how important it is for these debates to happen on the Senate floor rather than in committee,” Blunt said. “You don’t get to the Senate floor if you don’t have a bill that has some broad-based support to start with.”

He said McConnell has been instrumental to changing how the Senate handles spending bills.

“He has set that as an important standard,” Blunt added. “Chairman Cochran and Sen. McConnell, who’s on the committee, have made the point that we expressed a lot of policy issues last year, let’s get the bills to the floor and we can always have those debates on the floor.”

Speaker Paul RyanPaul Davis RyanTo cut poverty and solve the labor shortage, enhance the Earned Income Tax Credit Wisconsin GOP quietly prepares Ron Johnson backup plans RealClearPolitics reporter says Freedom Caucus shows how much GOP changed under Trump MORE (R-Wis.) has to date taken a different approach in the House, giving his members free rein to add various policy riders in committee. But that approach is proving unworkable.

The House leadership suffered an embarrassing setback last month when a bill funding energy and water programs failed. Many Republicans voted against it because it included a Democratic amendment barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  

But the main reason it failed is because Democrats voted against it en masse, citing policy riders affecting the environment and firearms regulations that were added at the committee level.

“House Republicans can’t help themselves from larding up bills with riders. The base text of the bill we saw on the floor had numerous anti-environmental riders and a gun rider that were veto bait,” said a House Democratic aide. 

House Republican leaders announced Wednesday they will now start restricting politically charged amendments on spending bills.