Appropriations bills are about money, but sometimes those measures have policy provisions that spark fierce fights. The fiscal 2013 appropriations round, now under way, offers several examples.
On May 31, the House voted 218-198 to delete language in the FY13 military-construction/veterans-affairs spending bill that would have barred agencies from adopting union-only project labor agreements (PLAs). Nearly all House Democrats and 34 Republicans voted for an amendment offered by Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) to strike anti-PLA language from the bill. The House passed the underlying spending measure.