Chenoweth, Crapo Split Vote Gop Representatives In Rare Disagreement On Treasury Bill

In a rare disagreement, Idaho’s two Republican members of Congress canceled each other’s votes on the $11 billion Treasury Department appropriations bill.

Conservative freshman Helen Chenoweth was among 20 Republicans to join Democrats in opposing the bill while second-term Congressman Michael Crapo was in the majority that approved the measure on Wednesday but only on a 215-207 vote.

The bill cuts the Internal Revenue Service budget by 11 percent to $6.6 billion in the coming spending year - something the Clinton administration warned could delay tax refunds and reduce revenue collections.

It also freezes salaries for members of Congress, judges and top administration officials and retains the ban on abortions in the federal employee health insurance plan.

While GOP leaders pressed for the legislation and had Crapo’s support, Chenoweth felt the bill still did not go far enough and found herself paired up with Democrats who believed it went way too far.

“There were some good things in the bill,” Chenoweth Chief of Staff Keith Rupp said. “But there weren’t enough good things in it. It still increased funding by $51.5 million.”

Chenoweth’s persistent opposition to the legislation, which also provided cash for White House operations and a subsidy for the Postal Service to deliver nonprofit organizations mail at reduced rates, was based on the refusal of the House to impose a 1.9 percent across-the-board reduction, Rupp said.

She was also the GOP freshmen pushing the additional reduction to avoid a temporary increase in the deficit in 1997. But the House voted 268-150 against the proposal as Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Lightfoot, R-Iowa, chastised the advocates to “get a life” and “quit this self flagellation.”