Galesburg’s reps vote ‘yes’ on budget deal

Feb. 10--GALESBURG -- Galesburg's representatives in Congress voted for a two-year budget deal Friday to end a temporary government shutdown.

The $400 million budget deal included funding for infrastructure, opioid treatment and mental health programs. The budget also included a 10-year reauthorization of the Child Health Insurance Program and a two-year reauthorization of Federally Qualified Health Centers.

A total of 73 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted "yes" to pass the budget, while 67 Republicans broke ranks and voted "no." U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, said she voted "yes" because of the CHIP and opioid treatment funding, as well as the provisions for Community Health Centers and disaster assistance.

"It further lifts the current limit on defense spending, which protects our Armed Forces, strengthens the Rock Island Arsenal, supports Peoria's 182nd Airlift Wing and bolsters Rockford's aerospace and logistics industry," Bustos said in a release Friday.

Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, liked that the budget deal created a joint committee to reform Congress' budget and appropriation process, and repealed the Independent Payment Advisory Board established by the Affordable Care Act.

"While the Bipartisan Budget Act is far from perfect, it contains crucial provisions that make it a clear win for our district," LaHood said in a statement. "... Funding the government one month at a time is not responsible, and puts off the necessary strategic, long-term planning that Americans expect from Congress."

Earlier Friday morning in the Senate, Illinois Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin also voted for the bill.

"This agreement is not perfect but it ends the destructive cycle of short-term budgeting and uncertainty that damage our Armed Forces and harm our military readiness," Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq War, said in a press release.

Both senators also saw the budget as the first step toward a floor debate on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

"Senator (Mitch) McConnell has guaranteed a fair and open process for senators to finally act to protect Dreamers, and I am ready for that fight," Durbin said in a statement.

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