109th Congress / House / 2nd session / Vote 4
- Question: On Agreeing to the Resolution
- Bill: H RES 653
- Vote description: Relating to Consideration of the Bill (S. 1932) to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Section 202 (a) of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2006 (H. Con. Res. 95)
- Vote type: Yea-and-Nay (Help)
- Result: Passed, 216-214, with 3 not voting.
- Date/time: February 1, 2006, 5:11 p.m.
- Republican majority opinion: Yes (Help)
- Democrat majority opinion: No (Help)
Key Vote Analysis
This bill cut nearly $40 billion over five years from the federal budget by imposing substantial changes on welfare, child support and student lending programs. The Washington Post reported that this bill represented "the first effort in nearly a decade to try to slow the growth of entitlement programs, one that will be felt by millions of Americans."
Decided largely by party line in both the House and the Senate, the bill attempted to slow what Republicans called the runaway growth of entitlement programs. But Democrats objected that women on welfare would face longer hours of work, Medicaid recipients would face higher co-payments and deductibles, and more affluent seniors would find it more difficult to qualify for Medicaid-backed nursing care.
The bill exposed some division within the Republican Party. The House passed the original by a vote of 212 to 206 at around 6:07 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2005, after what a Washington Post story called "a grueling night of last-minute negotiations," which was made necessary by some moderate Republicans who worried the bill might be harmful to the poor. The bill then moved to the Senate where, on Dec. 22, Vice President Dick Cheney had to cast a tie-breaking vote to secure its passage. Senate Democrats won some minor changes, forcing the House to vote on the new version on Feb. 1, 2006. It passed 216 to 214. The president signed the bill into law on Feb. 8, 2006.
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