Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday defended the $1.1 trillion 2016 spending deal amid growing criticism from conservatives that it heavily favors Democrats and pro-immigration groups by raising caps for low-skilled foreign workers, and imposing no new screening procedures for Syrian refugees.
“I think we got some good wins,” Ryan told reporters during his weekly press conference. “Look, Democrats got some good wins too. That is the nature of bipartisan compromise.”
Conservatives are balking at the deal, in large part because it raises caps for H-2B visas for low skilled foreign workers, which they say constitutes a major change to immigration policy. Conservatives have been growing increasingly angry about the visa provision.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., a leading low-immigration advocate in the Senate, said the clause is part of the reason “voters are in open rebellion” against mainstream GOP candidates and are instead embracing Donald Trump, who has promised to build a border fence and temporarily halt Muslims from entering the country.
But Ryan defended the provision by telling reporters it was approved in the House Appropriations Committee earlier this year and that lawmakers first consulted with the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the visa program.
“I wanted committees driving the process and that is what happened here,” Ryan said, adding that the H-2B visa provision was not added at the last minute but rather, “has been out there for a long time.”
Still, Ryan criticized the process of producing a large spending bill and said next year, he plans to ensure the House returns to so-called regular order, where spending bills are passed individually, rather than being rolled into one omnibus measure.
Ryan took over the spending negotiations in November, after winning the speaker’s gavel. The top line amounts had already been negotiated by his predecessor, John Boehner, R-Ohio.
“We inherited a process that was pretty much more than half-baked,” Ryan said. “Next year we are going to do things differently.”
