Budget Amendment Targets Russia Investigation

When the House returns from Recess in September one of the first things it has to do is pass HR 244, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017. This is the so-called “omnibus spending bill” that will fund the better part of the US government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Because the bill must pass in order to keep the government from shutting down, it is an attractive target for amendments by various Representatives looking to fund pet projects or advance niche causes.

Rep Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is one such Representative. His amendment to HR 244 would cut Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation off after 180 days and limit its scope of inquiry to events occurring after June 2015.

Why this matters

By way of comparison, the Whitewater investigations into President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton dragged out for more than four years, ultimately transforming from an investigation regarding a failed real-estate deal into a inquiry about the President’s love life. A 180 day cap on the investigation and a hard limit of the scope of inquiry is intended to prevent Mueller from doing to Trump what Congressional Republicans accomplished with Clinton.

Many Republicans want the Mueller investigation to continue and this column has discussed some of them but the Congress will be under enormous pressure to pass HR 244 and there is always a risk that President Trump will veto the measure, possibly triggering a government shutdown, if it does not conform to his priorities.

Tell Congress what you think!

Text RESIST to 50409 to tell your representatives or Senators what you think about this or any other issue before Congress. With Congress in recess there may be townhalls in your area. Elite members of the Resistance can also text townhall to 50409 to be alerted of Congressional or Senatorial townhalls near them.

Who to talk to

Before the DeSantis amendment can come to a vote in the House it has to get past the House Rules Committee. These Representatives will determine if the amendment goes on to a vote on the House floor.

• Pete Sessions (R-TX32)
• Louise Slaughter (D-NY25)
• Tom Cole (R-OK4)
• Rob Woodall (R-GA7)
• Michael C. Burgess (R-TX26)
• Doug Collins (R-GA9)
• Bradley Byrne (R-AL1)
• Dan Newhouse (R-WA4)
• Ken Buck (R-CO4)
• Liz Cheney (R-WY)
• James P. McGovern (D-MA2)
• Alcee Hastings (D-FL20)
• Jared Polis (D-CO2)