Republican divisions over earmarks are presently holding up a five-bill minibus appropriations package in the Senate. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., wants the Senate to take up the minibus by unanimous consent instead of using the process defined in its rules to begin debate. Conservatives are objecting to advancing the package because it includes Republican-sponsored earmarks in violation of the party’s earmark ban.
But earmarks are not the only reason conservatives are objecting. Mike Lee, R-Utah, also objects to authorization provisions in the minibus that are under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs. For example, the proposed minibus authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to convey 4.4 acres of National Park Service land to Virginia or the District of Columbia. The minibus also requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue final National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program Guidance within 120 days of its enactment. And it empowers the Interior and Agriculture secretaries to waive the non-federal cost-sharing requirements for specific conservation projects and make up the difference using federal funds.
Thune wants to begin the minibus debate by unanimous consent because such authorization provisions are Senate rule violations. If the Senate instead takes up the package by moving to proceed to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (HR 4016) and Thune offers the minibus amendment once the bill is before the Senate, Lee - or any other senator - could strike any authorization provision in the minibus without an up-or-down vote simply by raising a point of order on the floor.
