2018: Fitzpatrick Voted For The $1.3 Trillion FY 2018 Omnibus
Spending Deal Which Raised Spending By $138 Billion Over FY 2017
Levels; Legislation Also Continued The Freeze On Congressional Pay. In
March 2018, Fitzpatrick voted for the FY 2018 Omnibus spending bill.
According to Congressional Quarterly, "Combined, the spending measures
would provide about $1.3 trillion in discretionary spending, with $1.2
trillion subject to discretionary spending caps, and $78.1 billion
designated as Overseas Contingency Operations funds. The measure's
spending levels are consistent with the increased defense and
non-defense budget caps set by the two-year budget deal agreed to last
month. That agreement increased the FY 2018 defense cap by $80 billion
and the non-defense cap by $63 billion. Given that the previous caps
were set to reduce overall discretionary spending by $5 billion, the
net increase provided by the omnibus is $138 billion over the FY 2017
level." The vote was on the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment
with an Amendment. The House agreed to the motion, thereby passing the
bill, by a vote of 256 to 167. The Senate later agreed to the
legislation, sending it to the president, who signed it into law.
[House Vote 127,
3/22/18; Congressional
Quarterly, 3/22/18; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
1625]
2017: Fitzpatrick Voted For An FY 18 'Minibus' Appropriations Bill
That Continued A Pay Freeze For Members Of Congress. In July 2017,
Fitzpatrick voted for legislation that would have, according to
Congressional Quarterly, "provide[d] $788 billion in discretionary
funding for fiscal 2018 to various departments, agencies and legislative
operations, including $658.1 billion in funding for Defense programs;
$88.8 billion in net appropriations subject to discretionary caps for
fiscal 2018 that would provide funding for military construction
activities and for VA programs and activities; $37.6 billion in net
appropriations subject to discretionary caps for fiscal 2018 that would
provide funding for the Energy Department, Army Corps of Engineers,
Bureau of Reclamation and related agencies; and $3.6 billion in funding
fiscal 2018 for operations of the House of Representatives, joint
House-Senate items and legislative branch entities such as the Library
of Congress, the Capitol Police, and the Government Accountability
Office. The bill would [have] provide[d] $1.6 billion in funding to
U.S. Customs and Border Protection for procurement, construction and
improvement of a barrier along the southern U.S. border." The vote was
on the bill. The House adopted the bill by a vote of 235 to 192. The
Senate took no substantive action on the legislation. [House Vote 435,
7/27/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 7/27/17; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
3219]
2019: Fitzpatrick Voted For The FY 2020 Minibus Appropriations Bill,
Which Continued A Freeze On Salaries Of Members Of Congress. In
December 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for the FY 2020 minibus spending bill,
which represented 8 of the 12 appropriations bills. According to
Congressional Quarterly, the bill "continues the freeze on salaries of
members of Congress, thereby preventing any pay increase for 2020; a pay
freeze for lawmakers has been in place since 2009. However, it does
increase the salary cap on senior staff members to $172,900 to respond
to complaints that lower salaries were preventing Congress from
attracting staff with the required technical expertise to address
complex issues." The vote was a motion to concur in the Senate
amendment. The House agreed to the motion by a vote of 297-120. The
Senate later passed the bill and the President signed the bill into law.
[House Vote 689,
12/17/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 12/17/19;
Congressional Actions,
H.R.1865]
2017: Fitzpatrick Voted For The May 2017 FY 2017 Omnibus
Appropriations Bill That Continued Blocking Congressional Pay Raises.
In May 2017, Fitzpatrick voted for the FY 2017 omnibus appropriations
bill that would keep much of the government open and would have provided
$1.16 trillion in discretionary spending. According to Congressional
Quarterly, the legislation "include[d] language to continue the freeze
on the pay of members of Congress, thereby preventing any pay increase
for FY 2017. A freeze on lawmakers' salaries has been in place since
2010." Overall, the legislation would have, according to Congressional
Quarterly, "provide[d] $1.16 trillion in discretionary appropriations
through Sept. 30, 2017 for federal departments and agencies covered by
the remaining 11 fiscal 2017 spending bills. [...] The measure would
also [have] provide[d] $608 million for health benefits for retired
coal miners, $296 million for Medicaid payments to Puerto Rico, and
$341 million to replace 40 miles of existing fencing along the
southwestern border, though the designs of the fencing must have been
'previously deployed'." The vote was on a motion to concur in the Senate
amendments. The House agreed to the motion by a vote of 309 to 118. The
Senate later also agreed to the legislation, sending the bill to the
president, who signed it into law. [House Vote 249,
5/3/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 5/2/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 5/4/17; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
244]