Assisted-suicide block, aid for gun victims tucked into spending bill

WASHINGTON -- A House panel has taken steps to help victims of gun violence, allow robust politicking from the pulpit, and prevent doctors in the District of Columbia from helping terminally ill people commit suicide.

The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee endorsed a $20 billion spending bill Thursday to fund the judiciary, the Treasury Department and other federal agencies.

Quietly tucked inside were numerous provisions that have little to do with funding the federal government. These are called riders. Some are contentious while others are bipartisan. Many will be discarded when Republicans and Democrats negotiate a final spending package this fall -- though some will survive.

One of the provisions would allow young migrants enrolled in former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program to apply for jobs with the federal government.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said people brought into the country as children "identify as Americans." For many, he said, the U.S. is the only country they have ever called home.

"Denying Dreamers the opportunity to serve their community and country through public service stands in stark contrast to our nation's core values," Aguilar said, using a nickname applied to people enrolled in the program.

The program gives hundreds of thousands of such people work permits and protection from deportation.

Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, a group that advocates for a reduction in immigration, said Americans will be angered to learn that people in the U.S. illegally would be able to compete for federal jobs.

"So much for Republican promises of making decisions that put American workers first," Beck said.

President Donald Trump pledged as a candidate to "immediately end" the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program. But as president, he has said those people will not be a target for deportation.

Another provision of the bill prevents the Internal Revenue Service from enforcing a 63-year-old law that prevents churches and other nonprofits from backing political candidates. Under the law, nonprofits could lose their tax-exempt status if they get directly involved in political campaigns, either by donating to them or by publicly endorsing candidates.

The law doesn't stop religious groups from weighing in on public policy or organizing in ways that may benefit one side in a campaign.

The provision forbids the IRS from spending money to enforce the law against "a church, or a convention or association of churches," unless the IRS commissioner signs off on it and notifies Congress.

The bill also would prohibit funding for doctor-assisted suicide in the District of Columbia. It also would repeal the DC Death with Dignity Act.

In December, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a law that makes it legal for doctors to prescribe fatal medication to terminally ill residents.

Congress granted D.C. residents an elected mayor and legislature in 1973, though Congress retained broad authority over the city, including the ability to block local laws.

The House Oversight Committee advanced a bill earlier this year to block the assisted-suicide law, but the deadline passed for Congress to act.

On Thursday, the appropriations committee adopted an amendment by Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., that tries to stop the law by blocking money to implement it.

The committee also included a provision that encourages states to use funding from the Crime Victims Fund to establish or expand hospital-based programs that help victims of gun violence.

Under such programs, gunshot victims receive counseling at hospitals to help them access community services and avoid getting shot again.

"This provision will not only allow more firearms assault victims to receive the services they need, it will save lives in at-risk communities," said Robin Lloyd of Americans for Responsible Solutions, the group started by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously wounded in a 2011 shooting in Tucson, Ariz.

The bill also includes restrictions on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created under the Dodd-Frank Act in the wake of the economic crisis. The agency gets funding from the Federal Reserve, a move designed to promote independence. House Republicans want Congress to control the agency's purse strings, which would give lawmakers greater say over manpower and priorities.

The bill would strip the agency of its primary enforcement tool, the authority to go after lenders and debt collectors that it determines have engaged in unfair, deceptive or abusive practices. The agency has used that authority to return billions of dollars to consumers.

The bill now goes to the full House.

Information for this article was contributed by Kevin Freking of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/16/2017

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