Rooney votes for veto override and praises Pelosi, Steube votes against help for the unemployed
The US Capitol dome. (Photo: AotC)
Dec. 29, 2020 by David Silverberg
Dec. 29, 9:00 am updated with Rooney statement, Steube statement, Senate developments
In a momentous night of legislating, the US House of Representatives last night voted to provide Americans who have lost jobs due to the pandemic with $2,000 in stimulus funds. It also overrode President Donald Trump’s veto of the US Defense appropriations bill.
Votes by members of the Southwest Florida delegation were mixed.
The additional relief funds were provided in the Caring for Americans with Supplemental Health (CASH) Act, House Resolution (HR) 9051. It passed by a vote of 275 to 134.
On this vote, Reps. Francis Rooney (R-19-Fla.) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-25-Fla.) voted in favor of the resolution.
"Last night I supported an additional stimulus payment of $2,000 for the hard working Americans suffering financially from the deadly Covid virus," tweeted Rooney this morning. "Thank you [House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-12-Calif.)] for swiftly bringing this to the House floor. It is my hope that
[Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)] will do the same in the Senate."
Rooney's praise for Pelosi was remarkable, coming from a conservative Republican.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) voted against the bill, denouncing it in a tweet, stating: “Americans don’t need inadequate stimulus checks and forced government dependency to get them back on their feet—we need efforts to safely reopen and return back to normal.”
In addition, he issued a longer statement explaining his vote, in which he called the bill an "unnecessary redistribution of wealth." His position put him at odds with President Donald Trump of whom he has been a vocal defender. Trump called the previous $600 stimulus payment "measly" and demanded the $2,000, which Republicans had been blocking.
The vote to override the president’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), HR 6395, was much more lopsided in the House, 322 to 87, demonstrating overwhelming bipartisan support for US military forces.
In that vote Rooney voted for the override, while Diaz-Balart and Steube opposed it, siding with the president.
As of this writing, none had issued statements explaining their positions on this bill.
Trump vetoed the defense bill because it did not strip protections from social media companies like Twitter, which have increasingly flagged his baseless and inaccurate charges of voter fraud and because he opposed changing the names of military bases from those of Confederate generals.
“With this overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, the House has upheld our sacred constitutional responsibility to keep our country and our people safe,” stated House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-12-Calif.). “The National Defense Authorization Act has been passed on a bipartisan and bicameral manner for 60 years, and it will become law, despite the President’s dangerous sabotage efforts.”
She concluded: “The President must end his eleventh-hour campaign of chaos, and stop using his final moments in office to obstruct bipartisan and bicameral action to protect our military and defend our security.”
After long negotiations on pandemic relief and overall government appropriations, Trump suddenly denounced the bill that both houses of Congress passed and demanded that it provide more than the $600 originally allotted for out of work Americans. Although Pelosi tried to get the increased amount passed immediately by unanimous consent, it was blocked by Republican members, necessitating a new bill and a new vote.
Both bills now go to the Senate. The NDAA previously passed in the Senate by a vote of 84 to 13, enough to override a veto. The Senate override vote may be taken today, Dec. 29.
On the CASH Act, it was not clear whether Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would allow it to come to a vote. As of this writing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), is threatening to filibuster the Defense bill unless McConnell agrees to submit the CASH Act to a Senate vote.
Liberty lives in light
© 2020 by David Silverberg