GOP revolt kills health spending in House

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- House lawmakers defeated the government's major health funding bill Thursday, signaling a major rebellion among Republicans.

The vote came on a conference report on a spending bill for the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services.

Conference reports are written after bills have already passed both houses of Congress, and their approval is normally a routine exercise before sending them to the president for signature. But Thursday's report failed after appropriators attempted to cut spending levels.

House leaders had tried to appease conservatives by cutting all new spending projects from the bill. The move alienated Republican moderates, many of whom objected to cuts in programs they favored.

"We said there would be no new projects," House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., told reporters after the bill failed 209-224. "The combination of all that was too much more for many to swallow."

But there were other also other priorities at play. Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., told reporters that he voted against the bill because of a provision banning erectile-dysfunction drugs like Viagra and Levitra from publicly funded health programs including Medicare and Medicaid.

The bill's failure likely means that lawmakers will be forced to fund health programs, including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, in a temporary measure at last year's funding levels, Lewis said.

Democrats claimed the vote as a major victory after spending the day attacking the bill.

Senate Democrats sharply criticized the final report for cutting health programs by more than $900 million, including a $249 million cut to the CDC.

GOP appropriators had also stripped out $8 billion in emergency funding passed by the Senate targeted to the White House's flu pandemic preparedness plan.

"Today was a victory for students, teachers, doctors, patients, and American families nationwide. The House rejected a bad bill that runs contrary to our national values and priorities," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the ranking member of the Appropriations Health Subcommittee.

Avian-flu funding is still likely to come through, though its timing remained in question Thursday. Lawmakers said they would likely turn to an upcoming defense spending bill to fund the White House plan.