House conservatives say their support of the 2016 omnibus spending bill will require provisions halting the Syrian refugee resettlement plan and allowing states to decide whether tax dollars should be spent on Planned Parenthood.
“Our number-one priority is the Syrian refugee issue,” Rep. Raul Labrador said at a gathering of conservatives in the House on Tuesday. “We are looking to see, at minimum, the language that passed the House last week.”
House lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill that would halt the resettlement of both Syrian and Iraqi refugees. The bill won the approval of 47 Democrats, a sign the bill could pass over President Obama’s veto.
The Senate has not taken up the bill, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would include the language or a version of it in the omnibus spending package. A House omnibus proposal includes the House-passed refugee bill, according to a Democratic aide who has seen the language.
There is still no deal on the spending bill. Lawmakers have until Dec. 11 to pass a proposal. The main sticking point are “riders” that include the Syrian refugee language and several other provisions which many Democrats and President Obama oppose.
House Republicans will meet tomorrow to discuss which riders they want to include in the bill, said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
“We have a conference tomorrow devoted to this subject,” Jordan said at the event, which was sponsored by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Labrador and other conservatives say they are also seeking riders addressing pro-life issues, including a provision that would permit each state to decide whether tax money should flow to Planned Parenthood, an abortion and healthcare provider.
Labrador said if the riders are not included, conservatives may vote against the spending package because they are already opposed to the spending levels, which exceed spending caps.
“If those riders on Syria and pro-life are not in the bill, it’s not even worth considering because the bill is spending too much money,” Labrador said.
That could set up a situation in which Democratic votes are need to pass the bill, although Democrats could be difficult to win over in large numbers with the refugee and Planned Parenthood language attached.
