The House passed a three-bill spending package Thursday, an important step toward funding the Department of Energy, the Interior Department, EPA and other agencies after months of tumultuous negotiations.
Lawmakers cleared the compromise appropriations bills on a 397-28 vote, sending them over to the Senate, where outstanding disagreements over earmarks and a beleaguered Colorado climate lab could still complicate final passage.
The House’s approval of the three bills — Interior-Environment, Energy-Water and Commerce-Justice-Science — marks an important step forward for congressional appropriators as they work to finalize and pass the remaining spending bills before the Jan. 30 funding deadline.
“With the passage of these three bills, we will provide full-year funding for many of our most critical programs,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said on the House floor.
