The House of Representatives passed a one-year $1.1 trillion federal budget late Thursday, with all members of the San Diego delegation voting for it except Rep. Juan Vargas.
The bill passed 219-206 and went to the Senate, which quickly passed a two-day budget extension to avoid a government shutdown at midnight. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said a Senate vote might not come until Monday.
Among the San Diego County delegation, Democratic Reps. Susan Davis and Scott Peters voted for the budget, while Vargas voted against it. Republicans Darrell Issa and Duncan Hunter both voted in favor.
“Our constituents sent us to Congress to forge bipartisan solutions that improve their lives and provide opportunities for economic growth, not to threaten government shutdowns with manufactured crises,” Peters said. “I supported today’s bipartisan legislation because it contains many provisions that will benefit San Diego and help grow our nation’s economy.”
The vote finished at 9:38 p.m. Eastern time after President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden made calls to wavering Democrats urging passage. In the end, 57 Democrats crossed the aisle to vote with 162 Republicans despite resistance from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).
The budget includes $216 million to fund the last phase of construction at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land crossing, among other benefits for San Diego.
If ultimately passed by the Senate, the budget will be the first complete one in years. Partisan squabbling in the past has forced Congress to resort to temporary funding measures.
