A7
THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, dEcEmbER 21, 2019
$1.4 trillion spending bill wins Senate OK Washington state
lawmaker accused of
domestic terrorism
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
Senate passed a $1.4 trillion
government spending pack-
age Thursday in a last bipar-
tisan burst of legislating
before bolting for the holi-
days from a Capitol riven by
impeachment.
Lawmakers cleared the
two-bill package in a set of
votes, sending it to President
Donald Trump in time to
forestall a possible govern-
ment shutdown this week-
end. The White House said
Trump would sign it before
Friday’s midnight deadline.
The first measure, cov-
ering domestic programs,
passed by a 71-23 vote. A
Pentagon and homeland
security measure passed
hours later in an 81-11 vote
that was the last Senate tally
for the year.
The legislation deliv-
ers Trump a victory on his
U.S.-Mexico border fence
and gives Democrats long-
sought domestic spending
increases and a repeal of
Obama-era taxes on high-
cost health insurance plans.
It blends spending increases
for both sides — reelec-
tion fodder for lawmakers
— with tax and benefit add-
ons that will mean a roughly
$400 billion boost to the
deficit over 10 years.
The
split-their-differ-
ences legislation was carry-
ing a large number of unre-
lated provisions into law,
drawing protests from fiscal
conservatives. It would put
in place an earlier spending
deal that reversed unpopular
and unworkable automatic
spending cuts to defense and
domestic programs — at a
$1.6 trillion or so cost over
the coming decade.
“These spending bills
are a fiscal dumpster fire,”
said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
“This is embarrassing.”
Key provisions include an
expensive repeal of Obama-
era taxes on high-cost health
plans, help for retired coal
miner, and an increase from
18 to 21 in the nationwide
legal age to buy tobacco
products. The tobacco mea-
sure was pushed by Sen-
ate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky.
The almost 2,400-page
package reflects the real-
ity of divided government
and the enduring strength
of the Capitol’s appropria-
tions process, which allows
lawmakers to go to bat for
their states and congressio-
nal districts.
McConnell emerged as
a victor, winning the polit-
ically popular $6 billion
pension rescue for about
100,000 retired coal min-
ers, along with more paro-
chial items such as help for
his state’s legal hemp indus-
try and $410 million to build
a new veterans hospital in
Louisville.
GOP
Sen.
Richard
Shelby of Alabama, the Sen-
ate Appropriations Com-
mittee chairman, secured
many items for his state,
includinga $378 million har-
bor dredging program. It’s
expected to deliver the lions
share to a Shelby-backed
initiative to deepen Mobile
to include 2014, 2015 and
2016,” the report said.
The report said Shea
“participated in an act of
domestic terrorism” when
By NICHOLAS K.
in 2016 he visited the Mal-
GERANIOS
heur National Wildlife Ref-
Associated Press
uge in eastern Oregon to
support its armed occupa-
SPOKANE, Wash. — tion by two sons of rancher
A right-wing Washington Cliven Bundy.
Shea “engaged in con-
state lawmaker vowed that
he will not resign despite a versations with Ammon
damning report that says he Bundy and other mili-
took part in “domestic ter- tia members in the plan-
rorism” against the United ning and preparation of the
armed takeover of the Mal-
States.
The report, which was heur National Wildlife Ref-
prepared by an outside uge in Burns, Oregon,’’ the
investigator for the Legisla- report said. He also issued
ture and released Thursday, a press release on Dec. 11,
said Rep. Matt Shea trav- 2015, asking for patriot and
eled throughout the West in militia groups near the take-
recent years meeting with over to rally against the U.S.
far-right extremist groups government, according to
and participating and even the report.
After the occupation of
organizing
anti-govern-
ment activities. The Repub- the wildlife refuge ended,
lican from the city
Shea posted on his
of Spokane Valley
Facebook
page:
was kicked out of
“After much prayer,
the House GOP cau-
I’m afraid violence
cus late Thursday
might be necessary
to take our coun-
and there have been
try back,” the report
calls for his resig-
said.
nation from both
Matt Shea
Shea also went
major parties.
to Cliven Bun-
“Like we are see-
ing with our President this is dy’s Nevada ranch in 2014
a sham investigation meant during a standoff with FBI
to silence those of us who agents in a dispute over
stand up against attempts grazing rights. And in 2015,
to disarm and destroy our in Priest River, Idaho, Shea
great country,” Shea wrote resisted when authorities
on Facebook late Thurs- planned to remove firearms
day. “I will not back down, from the home of an aged
I will not give in, I will not military veteran who was
resign. Stand strong fellow not eligible to have them.
The report also said that
Patriots.”
If Shea does not resign, it Shea in 2012 engaged in
would take a two-thirds vote intimidation when he posted
in the state House to expel a photo of himself on his
him from office. Democrats Facebook page standing in
have the majority, but would front of a political oppo-
need some Republicans to nent’s home, and refused to
vote for it as well. The only remove the photo despite
legislator ever expelled from requests from his adver-
the Legislature in Washing- sary, GOP officials and law
ton state was Nelson Robin- enforcement.
son, ousted in 1933 for sex-
Shea has also pursued
ually abusing a girl.
creation of a 51st state in
The findings of the 108- eastern Washington that
page report have been for- would be called Liberty and
warded to the FBI and the run on biblical principles.
The Army veteran hosts
U.S. attorney for eastern
a weekly show on the Amer-
Washington.
The report found that ican Christian Network
Shea had trained young and in 2017 complimented
people to fight a “holy members of Team Rugged, a
war,” condoned intimi- group that one member said
dating opponents and pro- provides special-forces-type
moted militia training by the gun training for young men
Patriot Movement for possi- so they can be effective in
ble armed conflict with law Christian warfare.
enforcement.
Shea last year lost a
Shea has complained that House leadership position
he was denied any opportu- after acknowledging he dis-
nity to review and respond tributed the “biblical basis
to the report. The report for war” document that also
noted Shea declined to be calls for killing non-Chris-
interviewed as part of the tian males who refuse to fol-
low fundamentalist biblical
probe.
The investigative team, law.
Despite the controver-
headed by a former FBI
agent and a former law sies, Shea is popular in his
enforcement officer, was very conservative district
and was reelected in 2018
hired in July.
“Investigators obtained with 58% of the vote.
But he has already drawn
evidence that Representative
Shea planned, engaged in, a Democratic challenger for
and promoted a total of three the 2020 election.
“We must put our com-
armed conflicts of political
violence against the United munity’s safety and our
States ... in three states out- future over party loyalty,”
side the State of Washing- Democrat Lori Feagan said
ton over a three-year period Thursday.
Took part in
Malheur wildlife
refuge occupation
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a $1.4 trillion government spending package.
Harbor to accommodate
larger cargo ships.
House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, D-Calif., was also a
driving force, winning per-
manent repeal of a tax on
high-cost “Cadillac” health
insurance benefits that is
unpopular with Democratic
labor allies.
After months of negotia-
tion, leading lawmakers cut
a deal on Monday that gives
Trump a steady stream of
money for the border wall.
“I would have preferred
no funding for the wall,”
said Vermont Sen. Patrick
Leahy, the top Democrat on
the Senate Appropriations
Committee. “But the Repub-
licans were clear. ... They
stood with the president on
the wall, as they seem to do
time after time.”
times that amount. That’s a
blow for liberal opponents
of the wall but an accept-
able trade-off for Democrats
who wanted to gain $27 bil-
lion in increases for domes-
tic programs.
But the Democratic con-
cession angered some His-
panic lawmakers. They
lashed out at the head of the
House Appropriations Com-
mittee, Rep. Nita Lowey,
D-N.Y., rather than Pelosi.
“I told (Lowey) we don’t
appreciate that we’re going
to get thrown under the bus
so she can pass this omnibus
and she did exactly that,”
said Rep. Ruben Gallego,
D-Ariz.
The trade-off for the wall
money was Trump’s signa-
ture on the broader package,
which increases spending
‘THESE SPENdING bILLS
ARE A FIScAL dumPSTER FIRE.
THIS IS EmbARRASSING.’
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah
The bill also offered busi-
ness-friendly
provisions
on export financing, flood
insurance and immigrant
workers. A tax on medical
devices and health insurance
plans would be repealed
permanently.
The core of the spend-
ing bill is formed by the 12
annual agency appropria-
tions bills passed by Con-
gress each year. It fills in the
details of a bipartisan frame-
work from July that deliv-
ered about $100 billion in
agency spending increases
over the coming two years
instead of automatic spend-
ing cuts.
The bill exceeds Trump’s
budget requests in virtu-
ally every domestic cate-
gory, except for Trump’s
request for $8 billion-plus
for the U.S.-Mexico wall. It
was cut back to $1.4 billion,
equal to last year’s appro-
priation. The measure pre-
serves Trump’s ability to
use his budget powers to tap
other accounts for several
SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
across the almost one-third
of the budget that’s passed by
Congress each year. Popu-
lar bipartisan programs such
as health research, veterans
medical care, NASA, Space
Force, sewer and water proj-
ects, and law enforcement
grants to states and local
governments would get
increases. The $738 billion
Pentagon budget is a record,
with increases for procure-
ment of expensive weapons
systems like the F-35 fighter.
The increase in the
tobacco purchasing age to 21
also applies to e-cigarettes
and vaping devices. Aides
familiar with the talks said
Pelosi agreed to the tobacco
legislation as she also won
help for unionized carpen-
ters with lower drug costs
under their health plans.
Anti-smoking activists
were irate at the tobacco
provision, saying it doesn’t
go far enough because it
failed to ban flavored vaping
products popular with teen-
agers. It also threatens to kill
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
momentum for more strin-
gent anti-vaping legislation
backed by House Energy
and Commerce Chairman
Frank Pallone, D-N.J., who
was one of only seven Dem-
ocrats to oppose the domes-
tic spending half of the two-
bill package.
Approached in the Cap-
itol on Thursday, a deflat-
ed-sounding
Pallone
declined to comment on his
opposition to the bill.
For the first time in two
decades, the bill would
provide money for fed-
eral research on gun safety.
That’s a major legisla-
tive victory for Demo-
crats, gun control supporters
and researchers who have
pushed to study gun vio-
lence in the same way sci-
entists look at opioid over-
doses and other public
health crises. A law adopted
in the 1990s has effectively
blocked such research and
prohibits federal agencies
from engaging in advocacy
on gun-related issues.
The bill provides $25
million for gun violence
research, divided evenly
between the National Insti-
tutes of Health and the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Business groups praised a
seven-year extension of the
charter of the Export-Import
Bank, which helps finance
transactions
benefiting
U.S. exporters, as well as a
renewal of the government’s
terrorism risk insurance pro-
gram. The financially trou-
bled government flood
insurance program would be
extended through Septem-
ber, as would several visa
programs for both skilled
and seasonal workers.
Most provisions enjoyed
bipartisan support, includ-
ing increases for medical
research, combating the opi-
oid epidemic, Head Start and
child care grants to states.
Democrats also secured
$425 million for states to
upgrade their election sys-
tems, and they boosted the
U.S. Census budget $1.4 bil-
lion above Trump’s request.
They won smaller increases
for the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, renewable
energy programs and afford-
able housing.
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
REGIONAL FORECAST
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Seattle
49 38
Cloudy, a little
rain
47 37
48 35
47 37
48 37
47 36
A shower in
spots
Chance of a
shower
A passing
shower
A couple of
showers
Showers
possible
48 35
Cloudy
Aberdeen
Olympia
48/40
48/41
Wenatchee
Tacoma
Moses
Lake
46/36
ALMANAC
UNDER THE SKY
TODAY'S TIDES
Astoria through Thursday
Tonight’s Sky: Orion’s Belt stands
almost straight up from the
horizon.
Astoria / Port Docks
Temperatures
High/low ................................ 54/42
Normal high/low .................. 48/36
Record high .................. 61 in 1981
Record low .................... 17 in 1924
Precipitation
Thursday ................................. 1.60”
Month to date ........................ 5.12”
Normal month to date ......... 6.15”
Year to date .......................... 46.07”
Normal year to date ........... 63.52”
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Time
8:51 a.m.
9:41 p.m.
8.8 2:31 a.m.
6.7 3:44 p.m.
Cape Disappointment
8:31 a.m.
9:27 p.m.
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Sunrise today .................. 7:55 a.m.
Sunset tonight ............... 4:32 p.m.
Moonrise today .............. 2:37 a.m.
Moonset today .............. 1:55 p.m.
New
First
Full
8.4 1:40 a.m.
6.3 3:05 p.m.
1.8
0.9
9.1 2:02 a.m.
7.0 3:18 p.m.
1.8
1.0
9.2 2:15 a.m.
7.1 3:28 p.m.
1.9
1.1
9:28 a.m. 9.0 3:32 a.m.
10:18 p.m. 7.0 4:45 p.m.
1.5
0.8
Hammond
SUN AND MOON
Last
8:41 a.m.
9:31 p.m.
Warrenton
8:46 a.m.
9:36 p.m.
Knappa
Depoe Bay
Dec 25 Jan 2 Jan 10 Jan 17
1.8
1.0
7:45 a.m.
8:40 p.m.
8.9 1:07 a.m.
6.5 2:34 p.m.
2.0
1.1
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Honolulu
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
New York City
Phoenix
San Francisco
Wash., DC
Today
Hi/Lo/W
Sun.
Hi/Lo/W
50/42/c
35/30/c
43/31/s
52/35/pc
58/34/s
78/73/c
57/42/c
72/51/pc
79/72/pc
34/28/pc
71/45/pc
61/50/pc
42/29/pc
50/46/r
44/33/s
46/33/pc
58/36/s
60/37/pc
80/72/c
64/42/s
64/51/sh
79/67/r
46/35/pc
72/50/pc
57/45/sh
48/34/pc
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy,
c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms,
r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.
52/37
Hermiston
The Dalles 59/41
Enterprise
Pendleton 45/32
59/39
49/39
La Grande
45/33
49/41
NATIONAL CITIES
High (ft.) Time Low (ft.)
49/36
Kennewick Walla Walla
55/39 Lewiston
60/41
50/41
Salem
Pullman
50/32
Longview
49/38 Portland
50/41
48/35
Yakima 51/35
47/37
Astoria
Spokane
41/32
Corvallis
49/38
Albany
49/40
John Day
Eugene
Bend
50/40
50/33
49/34
Ontario
46/31
Caldwell
Burns
46/26
47/35
Medford
48/37
Klamath Falls
45/30
City
Baker City
Brookings
Ilwaco
Newberg
Newport
Today
Hi/Lo/W
43/27/c
51/40/r
48/41/c
49/40/r
49/41/r
Sun.
Hi/Lo/W
43/27/pc
47/40/sh
48/40/pc
46/37/sh
48/38/sh
City
North Bend
Roseburg
Seaside
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Today
Hi/Lo/W
49/41/r
50/42/r
48/39/r
50/41/r
51/41/r
Sun.
Hi/Lo/W
48/38/sh
46/36/sh
48/37/c
47/35/sh
47/40/sh