Wyoming congressional delegates vote against hurricane relief funding bill

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, WY)

Sept. 09--CHEYENNE -- Two of Wyoming's three congressional delegates voted "no" this week on bills that funded Hurricane Harvey relief, raised the debt limit and continued government funding for three months.

U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, a Republican, was among the 17 "no" votes Thursday when the Senate agreed to more than $15 billion in emergency aid for Harvey victims in tandem with a short-term increase in the nation's debt limit and a bill to fund the federal government for three months. The measure crossed party lines, with 45 Senate Democrats, 33 Republicans and two Independents voting "yes." No Democrats voted "no."

A spokesman for Enzi said he supported the aid for Texans affected by the disaster, but he did not support tying the aid to raising the debt ceiling and other funding measures.

"Those deserved consideration in their own right, instead of being tied to disaster relief," said

Coy Knobel, Enzi's communication director. "Sen. Enzi is an advocate for fiscal discipline and restraint, but the Senate package embodied neither."

Knobel said Enzi voted for an amendment that would have limited the funding to only hurricane aid.

Enzi's colleague, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., voted in favor of the measure, apparently because of the imperative nature of the hurricane relief.

"Parts of our country are experiencing a life-and-death emergency," said Laura Mengelkamp, press secretary to Barrasso.

"Sen. Barrasso voted to ensure Americans facing the ongoing devastation of hurricanes Harvey and Irma have the federal support they need to survive and recover from these historic storms."

The legislation also easily passed in the House by a 316-90 vote. Each member who voted against the bill was a Republican, as many GOP lawmakers were frustrated by President Donald Trump's deal made with Democrats to include the spending and debt ceiling provisions with disaster relief.

Among those Republicans was Wyoming's U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, who said she also voted for a no-strings-attached Hurricane Harvey aid package, but not the version tied to spending and the debt limit.

"Unfortunately, after the changes demanded by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, I could no longer support the package, which now includes raising the debt ceiling without spending reforms and an arbitrary three-month continuing resolution," Cheney said.

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