December 28, 2015
Christmas is over and as we take down the trees, lights and decorations we look ahead to 2016. But as we do, some of us have credit card bills to look forward to and figuring out how to pay for the expenses of the holidays. We must pay our bills. The Fed, on the other hand, simply prints more money, borrows money it doesn’t have, and Congress continues to spend without consideration for ever paying it back. And what’s even more concerning is what they are spending the money on!
Just before the Congress broke for its Christmas break, the House and Senate passed an omnibus spending bill. In the House it passed by a vote of 316-113 with 95 Republicans and 18 Democrats voting against it. The bill approved $1.1 trillion in spending and avoided a government shutdown but also had lots of pork in its 2,000+ pages.
The bill…
- Lifts the export ban on crude oil exports, thereby providing the opportunity to generate more jobs while improving our economic and national security. This is good news for those of us living in Texas Congressional District 14 which has five ports.
- Provides $572.8 billion in defense spending including $58.6 billion earmarked for combating terrorism, training, backing countries that oppose Russian aggression and for military intelligence.
- Makes small improvements to the Visa Waiver Program while denying it for individuals who have travelled to Iraq and Syria.
- Delays the implementation of the union-supported “Cadillac tax” on high-cost health plans while failing to reduce the costs associated with ObamaCare.
- Extends for two years the moratorium on Obamacare’s medical device tax instead of repealing it altogether.
The bill doesn’t…
- Restrict DHS and DOJ from giving grants to sanctuary cities that resist the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Local governments have latitude in choosing whether to assist the Federal government in this realm but they should not be rewarded financially for sanctuary policies.
- Prohibit hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds from flowing to Planned Parenthood, despite the recent videos showing Planned Parenthood officials haggling over the price of baby body parts.
- Call for additional assurances, intelligence assessments, or even a risk-based vetting of refugees wanting to enter the U.S.
- Include a much needed policy to stop forcing companies to provide healthcare coverage that covers abortion-inducing drugs.
- Prohibit funding for the EPA’s controversial water rule which expands the Federal government’s authority under the Clean Water Act while attacking property rights and the role of state governments.
This bill has some good provisions but falls way short of what it could’ve been. Do the good things outweigh the deficiencies? Is it OK to keep spending money we don’t have? Too many establishment politicians were unwilling to stand up for the issues they campaigned on and promised to fight for. The time for talk is over. The time for action was at hand and sadly – for whatever the reason – the American people were let down again.
Bill, Mark, and John
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