With a Budget Deal in place the House was able to pass a new Defense Authorization Bill. Despite President Obama’s objections, the Bill still prohibits any funds being used to close the Guantanamo Bay Prison. President Obama has threatened to use executive powers to close Guantanamo so this issue will drag on for at least another year.

The Defense Authorization vote is shown below. Even though the vote is very lopsided the PRE is still a respectable 0.31 and the second dimension divides the Democrats:

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The long stalled Transportation Bill also passed the House on Thursday. The bill authorizes funding for three years with an addition three years “penciled in”; that is, they have to agree on the addition three years of funding at some point in the next few years. The bill also revives the Export-Import Bank which had expired June 30th. However, the Export-Import Bank is popular with many very powerful businesses such as Boeing and General Electric because it provides loans and guarantees to support U.S. exports. Although it may be “Corporate Welfare” it has broad support in Congress.

The Transportation vote is shown below. The opposition is mainly Republican Conservatives and the PRE is only 0.19:

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Expect more “Christmas Tree Decorations” before the holiday recess.