2013: Schweikert Voted Against The Congressional Black Caucus Substitute To The FY 2014 Budget. In March 2013, according to Congressional Quarterly, Schweikert voted against the "Scott, D-Va., substitute amendment that would provide $3.325 trillion in new budget authority in fiscal 2014, not including off-budget accounts. It would assume cuts in war spending and other savings to increase funding for domestic activities. It would call for $230 billion for infrastructure repairs, $100 billion for community restoration projects, $50 billion for school renovation, $50 billion to fund teacher, law enforcement and first responder jobs and $41 billion over 10 years for a pay increase for federal workers. It also would assume spending increases of $255 billion for transportation projects, $240 billion for education programs, $57 billion for community development and $55 billion for low-income aid programs. It would assume repeal of the automatic spending cuts under the sequester. It also would call for the creation of a public insurance option within the health insurance exchanges and assume $138 billion in spending to permanently address the Medicare reimbursement rate issue known as the 'doc fix.'." The House rejected the substitute by a vote of 105 to 305. [House Vote 84, 3/20/13; Congressional Quarterly, 3/20/13; Congressional Actions, H.Con.Res. 25]
2013: Schweikert Voted Against The Congressional Progressive Caucus Substitute To The FY 2014 Budget. In March 2013, according to Congressional Quarterly, Schweikert voted against the "Grijalva, D-Ariz., substitute amendment that would provide $3.802 trillion in new budget authority in fiscal 2014, not including off-budget accounts. The plan would assume repeal of the automatic spending cuts under the sequester. It would assume $2.1 trillion in new spending through fiscal 2015 through enactment of several job-related measures. It also would assume enactment of policies to increase taxes for corporations and high-income individuals to raise $5.7 trillion in revenues. It would assume increases in spending on work force initiatives, social programs and other activities, including: $154 billion for K-12 schools and teacher support and $179 billion in state block grant funding for Medicaid, first responders and other programs. It would call for the creation of a public insurance option within the health insurance exchanges and legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate rates for prescription drugs and services. It also would assume cuts to non-emergency Defense Department spending and the elimination of funding for overseas contingency operations after fiscal 2015." The House rejected the substitute by a vote of 84 to 327. [House Vote 85, 3/20/13; Congressional Quarterly, 3/20/13; Congressional Actions, H.Con.Res. 25]
2014: Schweikert Voted Against Suspending The Federal Debt Limit Until March 15, 2015. In February 2014, Schweikert voted against a bill that, according to Congressional Quarterly, would have "suspend[ed] the current statutory limit on federal borrowing authority for one year, through March 15, 2015. Under the bill, on March 16, 2015, a new statutory debt limit [will] automatically be re-established and set at increased levels to reflect any additional federal borrowing that had occurred in order to make payments up to that point on government obligations." The vote was on a House substitute amendment to an unrelated Senate bill; the House adopted the amendment by a vote of 221 to 201. Afterwards, the Senate agreed to the House's amendment, and the president signed the amended bill into law. [House Vote 61, 2/11/14; Congressional Quarterly, 2/11/14; Congressional Actions, S. 540]
2013: Schweikert Voted Against The Democratic Substitute FY 2014 Budget Resolution. In March 2013, Schweikert voted against the Democratic FY 2014 substitute budget resolution. According to Congressional Quarterly, the amendment would "provide $2.983 trillion in new budget authority for fiscal 2014, not including off-budget accounts. It would assume the replacement of the automatic spending cuts under the sequester, with a combination of revenue increases and spending cuts. It would assume $80 billion in spending for education initiatives, $50 billion for surface transportation projects, $10 billion for a national infrastructure bank, $5 billion to help states and localities hire police officers and firefighters and $1 billion for a Veterans' Job Corps. It would call for $141 billion in Medicare savings over 10 years through program efficiencies as well as $73 billion in mandatory savings from cuts in agriculture direct payments, changes to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and cuts to duplicative federal programs. It would assume no funding for overseas contingency operations after fiscal 2014. It also would accommodate deficit-neutral legislation to permanently address the Medicare reimbursement rate issue known as the 'doc fix.'" The vote was on the substitute amendment to the FY 2014 Ryan budget. The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 165 to 253. [House Vote 87, 3/20/13; Congressional Quarterly, 3/20/13; Congressional Record, 3/20/13; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 36; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 25]
2014: Schweikert Voted Against Appropriating $1.1 Trillion for FY 2014. In January 2014, Schweikert voted against a bill that, according to Congressional Quarterly, "would provide about $1.1 trillion in discretionary appropriations in fiscal 2014 for federal departments and agencies covered by the 12 unfinished fiscal 2014 spending bills. Included in that total is: $20.9 billion for Agriculture, $51.6 billion for Commerce-Justice-Science, $572 billion for Defense, including $85.2 billion for overseas contingency operations associated with the war in Afghanistan and other counterterrorism operations, $34.1 billion for Energy-Water, $21.9 billion for Financial Services, $39.3 billion for Homeland Security, $30.1 billion for Interior-Environment, $156.8 billion for Labor-HHS-Education, $4.3 billion for the Legislative Branch, $73.3 billion for Military Construction-VA, $49 billion for State-Foreign Affairs, and $50.9 billion for Transportation-HUD." The House passed the bill by a vote of 359 to 67. Subsequently, the Senate also passed the bill, and the president signed it into law. [House Vote 21, 1/15/14; Congressional Quarterly, 1/15/14; Congressional Actions, H.R. 3547]
Bill Based On December 2013 Ryan-Murray Budget Agreement. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The agreement's funding is within the $1.012 trillion cap on discretionary spending set by last month's Bipartisan Budget Act, which rolled back a portion of scheduled cuts under sequestration and set new caps for defense and non-defense spending." [Congressional Quarterly, 1/14/14]
Bill Provided $520.5 Billion For Defense Spending And $491.8 Billion For Non-Defense Spending. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The measure's $1.012 trillion in cap spending adheres to the separate caps set by December's bipartisan agreement for defense (function 050) and non-defense, providing $520.5 billion and $491.8 billion, respectively." [Congressional Quarterly, 1/14/14]
Bill Exempted Disabled Veterans And Survivors Of Veterans From Recently Enacted Military Pension COLA Reduction. According to Congressional Quarterly, "It provides almost $7 billion for procurement and research and development of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft, prevents a recently enacted cost-of-living pension adjustment reduction from applying to disabled veterans or the survivors of veterans, and fully funds the department's sexual harassment prevention efforts." [Congressional Quarterly, 1/14/14]
Bill Exempted Increase In Military Pension From PAYGO Rules. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The $573 million change exempting disabled veterans and veterans' survivors from a reduction in cost-of-living payments does not have to be entered on the annual PAYGO scorecards, meaning the increased spending need not be offset with other spending cuts or revenue increases" [Congressional Quarterly, 1/16/14]
Club For Growth, Heritage Action And Tea Party Patriots Said They Opposed The Bill. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Conservative groups lined up Monday to denounce the nearly 1,600-page spending package, which includes funding and policy directives for all 12 of the annual appropriations bills and provides many government agencies with their first fresh congressional guidance in years. The Club for Growth labeled the omnibus (HR 3547) as a 'key vote' that would be included on the group's annual congressional scorecard and urged lawmakers to vote 'no' on the measure. 'It funds ObamaCare, plusses up other wasteful programs, and contains dozens of policy riders that can only be described as earmarks,' the group said in a statement. The Heritage Action lobby tallied what it described as 'pork projects of ineffective government programs and giveaways for corporate cronies,' while the Tea Party Patriots urged Congress to dispose of the measure. 'This omnibus is unacceptable and sets the stage for another debt increase in February. ... One trillion dollars does not appear magically out of thin air,' Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin said Tuesday" (ellipsis in original). [Congressional Quarterly, 1/14/14]
Bill Rejected Obama Administration's TRICARE Fee Increases And Provided $218 Million To Prevent Increases In Service Members' Out-Of-Pocket Costs. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The agreement appropriates $33.6 billion for defense health care programs, roughly equal to the president's request. The total includes $899 million in the overseas contingency section of the measure. Like the FY 2014 Defense Authorization, the agreement rejects administration proposals to increase some Tricare fees. It also provides $218 million in additional funding to ensure that servicemembers are not paying higher out-of-pocket costs for their health care." [Congressional Quarterly, 1/14/14]
Earlier FY 2014 Defense Authorization Bill Had Blocked Administration-Proposed Increases In Enrollment Fees For Several Tricare Programs. According to Congressional Quarterly, the earlier FY 2014 Defense Authorization Act had, "like the FY 2013 authorization act, prohibits a Pentagon proposal to increase Tricare Prime enrollment fees and pharmacy co-pays and to establish an enrollment fee for Tricare for Life and Tricare Standard." [Congressional Quarterly, 12/17/14]
Koch Brothers Backed Organization, American For Prosperity, Urged Representatives To Vote No And Included The Vote In Their Annual Scorecard. [Americans for Prosperity, 113th Congress Scorecard]
2013: Schweikert Voted Against Bipartisan Budget Compromise Allowing $2.026 Trillion In Total Federal Discretionary Spending During Fiscal Years 2014 And 2015. In December 2013, Schweikert voted against a bill that, according to Congressional Quarterly, "revise[d] the sequester caps on discretionary spending in fiscal 2014 and 2015 and raise[d] the overall discretionary spending limit to $1.012 trillion this year and to $1.014 trillion in fiscal 2015, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In return, it seeks savings through changes such as extending the sequester of mandatory programs for an additional two years through 2023, raising aviation security fees, and adjusting federal civilian and military retirement systems." The House passed the bill by a vote of 332 to 94. The bill was subsequently approved by the Senate, and the president signed it into law. [House Vote 640, 12/12/13; Congressional Quarterly, 12/16/13; Congressional Actions, H .J. Res.59]
The Bill Raised The Defense And Non-Defense Spending Caps Imposed By The 2011 Debt Limit Deal By $22 Billion In Each Category In FY 2014, And $9 Billion Each In FY 2015. According to Congressional Quarterly, "For fiscal 2014, the caps on defense and nondefense spending would each be about $22 billion higher than current caps under sequestration. For 2015, defense and nondefense caps would each be raised by about $9 billion. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that discretionary outlays would be roughly $62 billion higher over the 2014-23 period than appropriations under current law." [Congressional Quarterly, 12/16/13]
Opponents Criticized The Bill For Using New Revenue To Pay For Its Increased Spending. According to the New York Times, "Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, has already declared his opposition. 'Much of the spending increase in this deal has been justified by increased fees and new revenue,' Mr. Sessions said. 'In other words, it's a fee increase to fuel a spending increase --- rather than reducing deficits.'" [New York Times, 12/12/13]
The Bill Drew Bipartisan Support For Moving Away From The Sequester And Achieving Long-Term Savings. According to the New York Times, "'While modest in scale, this agreement represents a positive step forward by replacing one-time spending cuts with permanent reforms to mandatory spending programs that will produce real, lasting savings,' Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio said in a statement. President Obama also weighed in. 'This agreement doesn't include everything I'd like --- and I know many Republicans feel the same way. That's the nature of compromise,' he said. 'But it's a good sign that Democrats and Republicans in Congress were able to come together and break the cycle of shortsighted, crisis-driven decision making to get this done.'" [New York Times, 12/10/13]
Koch Brothers Backed Organization, American For Prosperity, Urged Representatives To Vote No And Included The Vote In Their Annual Scorecard. [Americans for Prosperity, 113th Congress Scorecard]