Redstate

By Congressman Jeb Hensarling Posted in Congress | Democrats | Earmarks | funding | omnibus bills — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Late last night, Democrats released a massive 3,565-page FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill (which means that 11 spending bills have been combined to form one massive bill) that is expected to be voted on later today. This means that members will not even have the ability to read the bill before knowing what they are voting on. This is hardly the way to do business if spending accountability is a priority.

After spending all night trying to review this enormous bill, I can say that this legislation is a bad for deal for American taxpayers, American families and the fiscal future of our children. Unfortunately, Democrats squandered an opportunity to work together on a clean bill that is free of wasteful earmarks and budget gimmicks.

Just three years ago, then Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the refusal to allow Members three days to read legislation before voting on it ‘martial law.’ Abandoning her word, Speaker Pelosi is now engaging in ‘martial law’ herself by trying to forcing this bill through Congress before anyone knows exactly what is in it. What could they be hiding?

Earmarks? Check.

Please read on...

We know that this bill contains over 8000 earmarks. Those earmarks, combined with budget gimmicks that hide billions of dollars and other added-on spending ensure that the Democrats’ bill is well over the spending level requested by President Bush. While providing additional funds for our veterans is important, that extra spending must be offset elsewhere in this trillion dollar budget.

This debate is really about two different fiscal roads. One road leads us to the largest tax increase in American history to be followed by an even larger tax increase, which would threaten our children and grandchildren with a lower standard of living. The other road is the path to fiscal responsibility. It is a path to make sure that the Federal budget does not grow beyond the ability of the American family budget to pay for it. To accomplish that, the government – like all American families – must live within a budget and this omnibus bill doesn’t get us there.

Finally, this bill fails to provide funds for many of our troops serving in harm’s way. It is an absolute disgrace that Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat Congress believe that it is more important to prioritize funding for Washington bureaucracies than American armed forces serving in Iraq. Last time I checked, every member of Congress received a paycheck from the U.S. Treasury, just like American servicemen. As we enter the holiday season, I hope that Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, and Caucus Chairman Emanuel solemnly reflect upon that fact and reconsider their indefensible position.