In the waning days that they remain in control of Congress, Democrats are set to ram through a one-year spending bill worth $1.7 trillion that runs 4,155 pages — without members having a chance to read it, which has become par for the course with our dysfunctional Legislative Branch.
And worse, there are going to be more than a few Republicans who will vote for it, including several who are retiring and on their way out the door because their districts or their states are getting massive influxes of taxpayer cash.
As reported by Breitbart News, the military-industrial complex gets the lion’s share of the money:
The bill would fund the government through September 2023 and would boost defense spending by $76 billion, totaling $858 billion. Domestic spending is $773 billion.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has chalked up the higher increase in defense spending compared to domestic spending as a Republican victory, even though Democrats managed to pass their $700 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which boosted domestic expenditures on climate change and other leftist domestic priorities.
Mind you, this outrage comes on top of a massive, country-ending national debt that has surpassed, as of this writing, $31.4 trillion.
The measure also includes:
- $45 billion in military and economic aid for Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. This is billions more than the $37 billion Biden requested
- $5 billion in earmarks for 3,200 projects
- $47 billion for the National Institutes of Health
- $1 billion for Puerto Rico’s electrical grid
- $600 million to address water issues in Jackson, Mississippi
- The Senate version of the Electoral Count Reform Act, which would change the process for lawmakers to object to the certification of the presidential election
- Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) push to have a ban on TikTok on government devices is included in the omnibus
Needless to say, House Republicans who will take over the chamber in just less than two weeks were imploring their Senate colleagues not to sign off on the measure, which would mean a government shutdown but only temporarily. They argue that as majority party, the GOP ought to have more of a say in the legislation than they have had.
Thirteen GOP lawmakers wrote that they “are obliged to inform you that if any omnibus passes in the remaining days of this Congress, we will oppose and whip opposition to any legislative priority of those senators who vote for this bill – including the… leader.”
13 @HouseGOP to @SenateGOP: “…we are obliged to inform you that if any omnibus passes in the remaining days of this Congress, we will oppose and whip opposition to any legislative priority of those senators who vote for this bill – including the… leader.”#StandUpForAmerica pic.twitter.com/AVAHmESbKF
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) December 20, 2022
For his part, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on Wednesday he’s airing some of his grievances about wasteful government spending “early” ahead of his annual “Festivus” report, according to Fox News.
“In case you were wondering: yes, I’m airing a few of my grievances early. But don’t worry, I’ve got plenty more coming,” Paul tweeted.
A day earlier, Paul tweeted a photo of him standing behind a cart holding the 4,155 pages of the bill, stating, “I wonder how long it would take the clerk to read this…”
“1.7 Trillion of Hazardous Debt,” “Beware debt hazard of 1.7 trillion added to the national debt” and “Greatest threat to our national security: 1.7 trillion added to the debt.”
The Kentucky Republican pushed back on other lawmakers who complained that he was holding up the bill because, he said, Congress has had months to put together a government funding package after debate and consideration but the Democrats refused to do so. Now, he said, they want to ram something through before they lose control.
“The process stinks. It’s an abomination. It’s a no good, rotten way to run your government. $6 trillion entity. And they want 24 hours to process this and then they want to go forward,” Paul said.