The “one caveat,”
he continued, was Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) attempt to reverse a bill provision
that cracked down on the sale of some “intoxicating hemp provisions.”
“If that provision is
removed then … I can’t support the bill,” Harris said. “We have to close
the 2018 Farm Bill loophole that allows hemp-derived products to be sold with
intoxicating THC levels. And in many states, it’s even sold to children. We
have to reverse that.”
On Sunday night, the Senate
ended its weeks-long deadlock over government funding. With the exception of
Paul, eight Democrats joined all Republicans in breaking a filibuster on a
revised funding plan.
All eyes are on Paul to see
if he will drag out the process in protest of the hemp clause, but it is likely
that the Senate will reach a unanimous decision to proceed swiftly on the
legislation.
Overall, though, Harris
stated that the legislation package “looks pretty favorable” based on
what he has observed thus far, adding that the other members of his right-wing
House GOP caucus probably shared this opinion.
“We’re still unpacking
the entire package, but with the exception of the [reversal of federal
layoffs], I think that the members are pretty favorable toward … the rest of
the package,”
Harris said.
Additionally, it would
advance legislation to support the legislative branch, the Department of
Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Veterans
Affairs, and military construction.
Three of the twelve
separate legislation that make up Congress’s yearly appropriations are grouped
into what is known as a “minibus.”
In a win for Democrats, the
agreement would also undo federal layoffs carried out by the Trump administration
in October, compensating those employees for their lost time.
Additionally, it ensures
that Senate Democrats will have a chance to vote on legislation to prolong
Obamacare subsidies, which were strengthened during the COVID-19 period and are
scheduled to expire at the end of this year.
Speaker Mike Johnson,
R-La., has said both publicly and privately that he would not promise Democrats
a vote on the enhanced Obamacare subsidies in the House in exchange for their
support.
Harris told Fox News
Digital that he did not believe such a vote would pass the House or Senate.
“The COVID-era
extensions, I think there is no way that that passes either chamber,” he
said, referring to “clean, straight-up extensions”
specifically.
How would removing the hemp provision affect House support for the
bill?
Removing the hemp provision from the Senate spending bill would
probably reduce or exclude support from crucial House rightists, particularly
those like Representative Andy Harris who have tied their backing to the
addition of a crackdown on intoxicating hemp products.
The provision redefines legal hemp to count intoxicating
cannabinoid products similar to delta- 8 THC by setting a strict THC limit and
banning numerous synthetic or intoxicating hemp- deduced products current in
the booming hemp assiduity. Sympathizers argue this crackdown closes loopholes
exploited by manufacturers to sell limited, intoxicating products to minors,
addressing public health and safety pitfalls.
Removing this provision would incense those rightists who see it
as essential to guarding children and icing nonsupervisory clarity, therefore
weakening bipartisan agreement in the House and potentially venturing the
bill’s passage.
