House accepts two more cost-cutting amendments to 2011 funding bill

Members rejected an amendment from Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) that would have cut $35 million in funds that various Interior Department offices use to purchase land. More than 30 Republican joined nearly all Democrats in opposing this amendment, and it failed in a close 213-216 vote.

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) proposed a $64 million cut to the EPA’s “Science to Achieve Results” program, but this too was rejected in a 199-230 vote.

The House also considered a fifth amendment from Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) that would have added $50 million to a North American wetlands conservation fund and would have paid for this by taking $50 million away from a program aimed at curbing diesel emissions, which drew opposition. That amendment failed in a 73-352 vote.

The House was expected to work late into Wednesday night.