U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, railed against Democrats this week for saying they wouldn’t pass legislation to reopen the federal government without a permanent extension of federal tax credits to offset the cost of health insurance because the request is outside the normal budget process.
Then he supported a Republican proposal outside the normal budget process that was included in the bill Fleischmann voted for, passed by Congress on Wednesday to reopen the government.
The GOP provision allows lawmakers to sue for damages if their electronic records are obtained without their knowledge in response to the federal investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Fleischmann said he voted for the bill, which included the outside-the-budget-process provision, because he wanted to end the shutdown.