The congressional delegation representing Bartholomew County was divided on a short-term spending bill that would avert a partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies through March.
The House approved the measure by a vote of 314-108, with opposition coming mostly from the more conservative members of the Republican conference, The Associated Press reported. Shortly before the vote, the House Freedom Caucus announced it “strongly opposes” the measure because it would facilitate more spending that they support.
Nevertheless, about half of Republicans joined with Democrats in passing the third stopgap funding measure in recent months. The action came a few hours after the Senate had voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill by a vote of 77-18.
Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana, who represents most of Bartholomew County, voted in favor of the measure, while Rep. Erin Houchin, who represents a southern slice of the county, voted against it, according to congressional records.
Pence has announced that he won’t seek reelection this year.
Indiana’s two senators also were divided on the measure. Sen. Todd Young voted for the bill, while Sen. Mike Braun, who is currently running for Indiana governor, voted against it.
The measure extends current spending levels and buys time for the two chambers to work out their differences over full-year spending bills for the fiscal year that began in October, according to wire reports.
The temporary measure will run to March 1 for some federal agencies. Their funds were set to run out Friday. It extends the remainder of government operations to March 8.
