House Approves $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill with Majority Dem Votes

The House approved a $1.1 trillion spending bill Friday morning with a majority of Democratic votes.

The bill passed on a vote of 316 to 113, with 166 Democrats and 150 Republicans voting in favor of the bill. Another 95 Republicans and 18 Democrats voted against the spending bill.

The omnibus frustrated conservatives who argued that the bill failed to address many of the Obama’s controversial initiatives and cedes to Democratic demands. In particular they voiced concern that the spending measure failed to impose restrictions on the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the U.S.

“Terrorists only have to be right once,” Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) said following the vote. “While we still have fundamental problems in the screening process, I believe we should call a timeout in the refugee program until we get it fixed.  For these reasons, I voted emphatically against the bill.”

While conservatives had concerns, House Leadership praised the deal and the bipartisan passage of the bill and its content.

“This bipartisan compromise secures meaningful wins for Republicans and the American people, such as the repeal of the outdated, anti-growth ban on oil exports. The legislation strengthens our military and protects Americans from terrorist threats, while limiting the overreach of intrusive government bureaucracies like the IRS and the EPA,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement following the vote.

Ryan added that in 2016 Congress will plan to “return to regular order.”

On the floor following the vote, Ryan praised and thanked committee staff and the people “behind the scenes who make this work.”

The Senate is expected to pass the spending bill later Friday.