Other names for this bill
The full name for this bill is the Interior and Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Commerce, Justice, Science, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State and Foreign Operations, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Legislative Branch, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2018.
This is a spending bill
This bill provides money for various federal agencies.
Among its provisions, it decreases funding for the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
It would limit environmental protections
The bill contains several provisions that favor specific industries at the expense of our environment. Among these provisions...
o It prohibits funds from being used to regulate the lead content of ammunition or fishing tackle.
o It prohibits enforcement of an Obama administration regulation requiring hardrock mining facilities to show they have the financial resources to clean up contaminated sites as required by Superfund. The regulation reduces the chances of the cleanup needing to be paid for with public money.
o It protects large animal feeding operations from regulations created under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
o It prohibits funds from being used to implement the Obama administration's Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes plan.
Abortion coverage and Planned Parenthood
The bill also prohibits the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from using any funds to enforce the the mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
It prohibits funding for Planned Parenthood, and prevents any payments to insurance companies or health care providers to provide abortions.
If you read the bill, you won't find the words Planned Parenthood anywhere in it. So how would this bill eliminate funding for the organization? Read our explanation.
Unanimous support to curb Civil Asset Forfeiture
Amendments to the bill include restricting Civil Asset Forfeiture - the government's ability to seize cash, cars, businesses and homes from people they suspect of criminal activity, before the suspects have been convicted - or even arrested and charged.
These amendments passed the House of Representatives by a unanimous voice vote.
For more civil asset forfeiture and what this bill would do, read the Lobby99 story.
Disposition
This bill expired when the 115th Congress ended in Jan. 2019.