Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-01) voted against H.R. 4502, containing seven partisan FY2022 appropriations bills to fund various executive branch agencies. Before voting on the funding packages, Congressman Fulcher was closely involved in the markup process of the legislation and co-sponsored several amendments to the bill. A list of these amendments can be found below. 

Congressman Fulcher commented on the package:

“These spending packages simply have far too many poison pills to earn my support. First, this is one of the most pro-abortion bills I’ve seen in Congress and it aims to undo historic pro-life protections like the Hyde Amendment that has been in effect since 1980.  

As our country faces increasing cyber attacks, this package does not fund the Department of Defense, and instead includes substantial funding increases to the International Monetary Fund, bankrolling hundreds of billions of American taxpayer dollars to Iran, China, Venezuela, and other adversaries.

Last month, we saw the highest number of illegal immigrant crossings in over 20 years, but rather than funding the Department of Homeland Security, this partisan proposal instead creates a backdoor way of enacting the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and carrying out the Left’s agenda to Defund the Police.

After over-spending billions during the COVID-19 pandemic and sending our country further in debt, this funding package increases discretionary spending by 21% from last year, rather than on efforts to balance the budget and lower our deficit.

This is not a responsible proposal and does not represent the values and priorities of Idaho.”

Congressman Fulcher has long been a proponent for voting on single-subject bills, rather than large “omnibus” bills packaged with hundreds of provisions on a range of different topics. Shortly after being sworn into office in 2019, Congressman Fulcher introduced the “One Subject At A Time Act” to mandate the practice of single-subject bills and votes. He has since reintroduced the bill in the 117th Congress and continues to recruit support throughout the Republican Conference. 

Congressman Fulcher commented on the single subject bill, “In Idaho, legislative bills are limited to a single subject and are voted on separately. This practice has held every legislator accountable to their constituents because each bill has a separate and transparent vote. As the House of Representatives looks at proposals to modernize Congress, I believe the One Subject at a Time Act needs to be part of the conversation. This proposal will end ‘backroom deals,’ large ‘must-pass’ bills, and restore trust in our representative government.”

Congressman Fulcher supported several amendments in the markup process, including: 

1. Cole Amendment to Restore the Hyde Amendment and Weldon Amendment. The Democrat bill removes the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for elective abortions. It also removes the Weldon Amendment, which protects the conscience rights of health care entities (including physicians, nurses, hospitals, and insurance plans) that do not want to participate in abortion. This amendment would prevent these pro-life protections from being removed. 
2. Wagner Amendment to Protect Born Alive Abortion Survivors. This amendment states that no funds made available in this bill may go to an entity that fails to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an attempted abortion. The amendment requires that any health care practitioner exercise the same care that would be given to any other child born alive at the same gestational age. The child must then be transported to a hospital. 
3. Smith-Hinson Amendment to Restore the Smith Amendment. This amendment will protect the Smith Amendment, which prevents funding for elective abortions through the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program. The FSGG bill removes the Smith Amendment, which was first offered by Rep. Smith in 1983 and has been in place from FY1984-1994 and FY1996-2021.
4. Hinson Amendment to Restore the Dornan Amendment. This amendment would restore the Dornan Amendment.  The FSGG bill removes the Dornan Amendment, which prevents appropriated funds (both federal and D.C. revenues) from being used for abortion in the District of Columbia.
5. Hinson Amendment to Restore the Kemp-Kasten Amendment. This amendment would fully restore the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, which allows the President to discontinue funding to organizations that support or participate in the management of a coercive abortion program. This provision has been used by some former presidents to eliminate funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) based on its complicity in the Chinese Communist Party’s birth-limitation policy.  
6. Dr. Foxx Amendment to Preserve the Rights of Religious Organizations. This amendment would ensure religious organizations are not forced to give up their beliefs to remain being a federal contractor
7. Smith Amendment to Restore Lead Content in Ammo. This amendment would restore lead content in ammunition and prohibit the EPA from regulating traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
8. Fischbach Amendment Regarding EPA Agriculture  Provisions: This amendment will restore two EPA agriculture general provisions enacted since FY10 to exempt farmers and livestock producers from burdensome greenhouse gas permitting and reporting requirements.
9. Stauber Amendment Regarding Mining Permits.  This amendment would prevent funds to be used to halt all permitting for mine plans, including expansions of existing operations. This simple strike amendment does the right thing for miners in northern Minnesota and for America’s supply chain security by stripping out this harmful provision.
10. Fishbach Prohibition on Use of Funds Issuance of Permits under CAA. This amendment would prevent the EPA from issuing any regulations under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide or methane emissions from livestock.
11. Fishbach Prohibition on Use of Funds Manure Management Systems GG. This amendment  would prevent the EPA from issuing any regulation that requires mandatory reporting of “greenhouse” gas emissions from manure.
12. Newhouse Amendment on the Greater Sage-Grouse.  This amendment would instruct the Department of the Interior that it can not use any funds to list or designate the Greater Sage-Grouse as endangered or threatened under the Engendered Species Act.
13. Newhouse Amendment on the Endangered Species Act Rule. This amendment would mandate that no funds made available to the Department of the Interior may be used to rescind or replace the “blanket rule” under the ESA. If the “blanket rule” was repealed it would provide “threatened” species with the same protections as “endangered” species.
14. Miller-Meeks Amendments Regarding WOTUS. These amendments would prohibit any funds from being used to repeal the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule from April of 2020.

Original source can be found here.