Budget

Although Congress passed a bi-partisan budget deal on Friday to avert a government shutdown, only two members of the Alabama delegation followed the leaders of their parties' call to approve the omnibus bill that funds the government until September.

U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, and Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, were the only two "yes" votes for the omnibus in the House; both Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions voted against it in the Senate, as they previously indicated they would.

On Friday, December 18, the massive omnibus spending bill that funds the government until the end of September easily passed the US House of Representatives. US Representatives Gary Palmer (R-Hoover), Bradley Byrne (R-Montrose), and Mike Rogers (R-Saks) each separately released statements explaining why they voted no on the legislation.

The only members of the Alabama congressional delegation to vote "yes" on the legislation were Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) and Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-Selma).

The U.S. House of Representativesapproved a $1.1 trillion spending bill by an overwhelming 316-113 vote Friday morning, wrapping up a frenzied month of legislating just in time for the lawmakers to head home for the holidays.

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Thursday, October 28, US Representative Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) voted against HR1314, The Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2015. The bill would increase the spending caps established by the Budget Control Act (a.k.a. sequestration) for the fiscal year 2016-2017 by a combined $80 billion, divided equally between defense and non-defense spending. The deal also suspends the debt limit until March 15, 2017, allowing for an estimated $1.5 trillion in new federal debt on top of the $18.4 trillion that we already owe.

President Barack Obama issued the fifth veto of his presidency Thursday when he vetoed the annual defense authorization bill. The $612 billion National Defense Authorization Act(NDAA) funds the country's military and national defense.

For only the fifth time since he took office in 2008, President Obama used his veto powers Monday, blocking a defense spending bill that was passed by Congress.

The veto of the National Defense Authorization Act starts the clock ticking for a new agreement that must be hammered out before the Pentagon finds itself once again furloughing personnel and cutting almost all programs.