House OKS spending package

WASHINGTON — House leaders are rushing to pass spending legislation before a weeklong break, muscling through an emergency border bill and a package funding projects benefiting Nevada and its residents.

Lawmakers said Wednesday that the package of five spending bills passed by the House to fund federal departments includes money for veterans, housing and infrastructure and protections for wild horses and burros that populate the Southwest.

The whirlwind of activity began Tuesday when House Democrats overcame division and passed a $4.5 billion supplemental border spending bill to address the humanitarian crisis on the U.s.-mexico border.

“The situation unfolding at the southern border is, without question, a humanitarian crisis,” said

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-nev.

On Wednesday, the House also passed a $383 billion package, 227194, to fund federal departments in fiscal year 2020, which begins Oct. 1.

Nevada’s congressional delegation voted along party lines, with Democratic Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Horsford voting for the bill and Rep. Mark Amodei, the state’s lone Republican and only member on the House Appropriations Committee, voting against it.

The bill goes to the Senate, where any changes must be reconciled by the bicameral conference committee.

Titus, a transportation subcommittee chairwoman, said she secured funding to improve infrastructure “in and around Las Vegas.”

Lee touted the legislation and its “increased funding for veteran suicide prevention, and full funding for the Summer Food Service Program to help young students in under-served communities.” Other measures in the bill include:

Language aimed at protecting Nevada’s legal commercial cannabis industry from federal interference.

Continuation of the Bureau of Land Management’s Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act Program.

An increase in funding for Community Development Block Grants, which has helped fund several programs in Clark County that include Lutheran Social Service Resource Center and the Shannon West Homeless Youth Center.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@ reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.