With a monthlong break approaching, Congress advanced legislation Thursday to repair the deeply troubled Department of Veterans Affairs and worked to clear funds for highway construction.
House Republicans also pushed legislation authorizing an official lawsuit accusing President Barack Obama of failing to enforce the health care law, denying they had impeachment in mind.
The vote to sue Obama was 225 to 201. Five conservative Republicans voted with Democrats in opposing the lawsuit: Reps. Paul Broun of Georgia, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Walter Jones of North Carolina, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Steve Stockman of Texas. No Democrats voted for it.
“Stop being mad all the time. Stop just hating all the time,” Obama lectured lawmakers from Kansas City, Mo., in a speech that was particularly harsh on Republicans. “Come on. Let’s get some work done together.”
There was a modest amount of progress on compromise legislation during the day, and hopes in both parties for more before a scheduled adjournment today.
On a vote of 420-5, the House approved a bill to clean up the VA, where some officials are accused of covering up long delays in patient care. The $16.3 billion measure would allow veterans to get outside care if they live too far from a VA health facility or face a delay of longer than 30 days in getting an appointment.
It also includes money to hire new doctors and allows the fast-track firing of senior officials found to be complicit in hiding agency shortcomings.
The legislation was a compromise between the House and Senate, with less money than Democrats wanted and a significant concession from conservative Republicans as well. It would raise federal deficits by $10 billion, one of very few times since tea party-aligned lawmakers came to power that the House has agreed to new spending without also insisting on offsetting cuts elsewhere in the budget.
A final vote was expected today in the Senate.
The vote on the veterans bill took place amid a partisan debate on legislation to authorize a lawsuit against the president financed with public funds.
The resolution authorizes House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to file suit in federal court “to seek appropriate relief” for Obama’s failure to enforce a provision of the Affordable Care Act that would impose a penalty on businesses that did not offer basic health insurance to their employees.
That provision’s effective date has been delayed twice by the administration and now won’t fully take effect until 2016.
Republicans, who have voted several times to repeal the health act, said the legal action was designed to prevent the president from deciding unilaterally how to enforce laws. Democrats called the suit a political stunt and said the president has resorted to using his executive powers because of congressional gridlock.
In another matter, legislation to assure uninterrupted funds for highway and bridge construction was stalled at least temporarily in a last-minute dispute between the House and Senate. Aides in both houses expressed confidence it would be resolved in time for final approval today.
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