Bill Johnson Statement on House Passage of Omnibus Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON- Congressman Bill Johnson (R-Marietta) issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan omnibus spending bill. The House passed the legislation by a vote of 316-113:

In our system of divided government, I am responsible for making decisions on the legislation before me, not the legislation I’d prefer to see. This spending bill was neither perfect, nor one I would have written; but, it does include many conservative victories.

This bill prohibits any new funding for ObamaCare, reduces funding for Obamacare’s panel of Washington bureaucrats who make health care decisions in place of medical professionals, and delays several Obamacare taxes that impact many working families in our region. Steadily, House Republicans are chipping away at this onerous, unpopular law.

This legislation contains a ban on federal funding for abortions, and continues an annual provision to prevent the Department of Health and Human Services from discriminating against health care providers who refuse to provide, pay for, or refer for abortions.

Additionally, this bill rejects funding for new – or expanded – EPA regulatory programs, and reduces funding for the agency to its lowest spending levels since 2008 and its lowest staffing levels since 1989. In this bill, our 2nd Amendment rights are protected, military spending increases, and the Visa Waiver program’s security requirements are tightened to make it more difficult for terrorists to enter the U.S.

Locally, the legislation is good news as it protects Ohio jobs in the coal industry. It also fully funds the cleanup in Piketon at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, and provides the Department of Energy the necessary funding to continue operations at the American Centrifuge Project.

Finally, this bill lifts the 40-year ban on crude oil exports, which will help create jobs here in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio, and will reduce the world’s energy dependence on Iran, Russia, and other trouble spots in the Middle East.

I am hopeful that as we enter into President Obama’s final year in the White House, Congress is able to build on the many positive provisions included in this legislation, to better serve the American people.