Congress Trying To Ram $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Bill Through This Week

With less than 3 weeks remaining of the Democrats holding majorities in both chambers of the US Congress, RINOS led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, appear to be on board with the leftist’s attempt to ram through a spending bill for 2023, preventing the new GOP-controlled House from having a say starting in January.

Congress released a massive $1.7 Trillion “Omnibus” bill early Tuesday giving lawmakers only 3 days to read 4,155 pages before the government is scheduled to shut down Friday.

An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a legislature but packages together several measures into one or combines diverse subjects. Omnibus is derived from Latin and means “to, for, by, with or from everything”.

The Heritage Foundation published, 8 Ways Massive Omnibus Spending Bill Is a Mistake last March.

Because of their large size and scope, omnibus bills limit opportunities for debate and scrutiny. Historically, omnibus bills have sometimes been used to pass controversial amendments. For this reason, some consider omnibus bills to be anti-democratic.

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.

McConnell is on board insisting the bill would increase defense spending compared to domestic spending, calling it a Republican victory.

 The bill includes:

• $45 billion additional military and economic aid for Ukraine
• $5 billion in earmarks for 3,200 projects (pork)
• $47 billion for the National Institutes of Health
• $1 billion for Peurto 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

Other priorities that did not make it into the bill include:

• Coronavirus aid
• Extension of the enhanced Child Tax Credit (CTC)

House conservatives quickly came out against the omnibus spending bill. Thirteen House Republicans wrote a letter to Senate Republicans, urging them to oppose the bill.

The lawmakers wrote, “…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.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote that not every senator will help congressional leadership “ram” the omnibus through the Senate.

Lee asked rhetorically, “This bill has been written in large measure by two retiring senators, one Republican and one Democrat. Why should we move heaven and earth trying to force their priorities on the very people they keep in the dark—all according to two senators’ contrived, manipulative timeline?”

The only way to stop this out-of-control freight train is for citizens to call their Senators and Representatives, demanding they vote NO on the Omnibus bill, but yes on a Continuing Resolution (CR) funding the government until mid-January.

This will keep the government open and allow the new GOP House majority who takes over on January 3rd to have a say on spending moving forward.

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