Welfare State Mother Lode. This colossal $351.8 billion fiscal 2001 Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill represents a spending increase of more than seven percent over fiscal 2000. Representative David Obey (D-WI) crowed that Republicans and Democrats were in a bidding war for welfare state spending: "This is ironic given the fact that all day long we were told by the majority that we could not get a vote on the amendments that we were offering on our side of the aisle because they exceeded the numbers in the budget resolution?"
The House passed H.R. 4577 on June 14, 2000 by a vote of 217-214 (Roll Call 273). We have assigned pluses to the nays.
