Congress just passed the “ominous omnibus” – a bill funding the government for 2023. The bill turns hard-earned American dollars into “monopoly money,” fanning inflation, triggering higher interest rates, unemployment, more pain for Americans. Countless earmarks, waste, mandates, and leftist spending priorities … make the blood boil.
As if getting out of town is what Congress was elected for, or spending trillions that no one possesses, or dictating useless, wasteful earmarks for special interests – this one-party Democrat Congress, joined by a few rogue Republicans, just put a pie in the face of average Americans.
We live in a time when families struggle to pay bills. They conserve gas, turn down the heat, compare generic foods and prescriptions, pick cheaper (dangerous) insulin, cannot afford home heating oil, gas to commute, and watch wages shredded by inflation. Now, Congress pushes more waste.
Where does the waste stop?
Where does this stop? This ominous omnibus contains more junk than a hubcap hoarder, more waste than a cowstall, yet they all skate. As Kimberly Strassell of the Wall Street Journal noted, this bill is “4,155 pages of bad policy, obscene spending, self-serving pork, and earmarks …”, a “monstrosity … “, and “one of the ugliest bits of lawmaking I’ve ever seen.”
She is too kind. When no one has money, this ominous omnibus bill magically conjures up $1.7 trillion dollars in new federal spending, to support population control where climate change affects “biodiversity,” “billions on international food assistance,” gun violence, “justice reform,” “climate research,” half a billion over the president’s request for the FBI, a billion for “immigration review,” 45 billion for Ukraine, two billion in Defense funding for climate, tens of billions to “de-carbonize” US energy (more unemployment), and mysterious “election security grants.”
At the southern border, the bill mandates “respect for the dignity of migrants,” then “$56.6 million for a new Office of Health Security to improve guidance and oversight related to the health of the workforce and of migrants in custody,” “$27.6 million for the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman to investigate and resolve complaints regarding misconduct by DHS personnel and violations of the rights of individuals in DHS custody, including through unannounced inspections of detention facilities,” then “$10 million above the request for increased legal access for noncitizens in custody,” with seven new restrictions on ICE.
After endless giveaways for countless reasons, the bill adds money for congressional staff, “to retain a talented and diverse staff,” justifies a raft of other additions for Congress. It renames the “Wounded Warrior and Gold Star Family Fellowship Programs” the “Green and Gold Congressional Aid program,” doubles down for Capitol Police due to “the January 6th attack.”
Beyond this, expect 6.4 billion more for global AIDs relief, $600 million for “family planning,” including for global use, tens of millions for “global equality,” and “LGBTQI-plus” funding, billions for “displacement” from “climate change,” promoting “biodiversity,” “sustainable landscapes,” “adaptation,” and more to “help countries adapt to new climate realities.”
In truth, the bill goes on and on … as every day Americans shake their heads and foot this bill, trying to “adapt” to their own “realities,” record costs for gas, home heating, cars, groceries, prescriptions, and basic living expenses, in a time of rising interests rate and unemployment.
Tens of millions of dollars are then given to the Secretary of State to “increase diversity, equity, and inclusion” at State, another 20 million for USAID. Almost a billion goes to promoting “gender equity,” billions more are spread out across other departments and countries.
Reading the bill – now that it is through the Senate – is exhausting. Reconciling it with how average Americans live, work, struggle to pay bills, and what they expect of elected representatives – in a world where each tax dollar is earned by someone – is disheartening.
Good news is that this “one-party rule” is coming to an abrupt end. Bad news is the margin is narrow. Americans desperately want restored accountability, a sense that “We, the People” count for something. For now, even in the best light, this is an “ominous omnibus.” Let us hope for better.