Trump signs spending bill, Washington averts shutdown
President Trump signs $1.3 trillion spending bill after threatening veto in morning tweet; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'
My constituents did not send me to represent them in the U.S. House in Washington to grow the size of government. We are bankrupting our country and placing a tremendous financial burden on our children. How big? A total of $21 trillion – $21,000,000,000,000.
Yes, that big.
The omnibus spending bill we just passed increases spending by over $400 billion over the next two years. I voted no. Why? Congress is adding to the $21 trillion debt we already have by creating new trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. By contrast, our tax cut bill pays for itself if the economy grows at 3 percent.
Back in 2016, voters asked us to “Drain the Swamp.” The American people made it clear that they are fed up with the status quo in Washington. They wanted us to put their interests ahead of the special interests that are constantly clamoring for more pork projects from the federal government.
The result of this bipartisan “compromise” is the largest spending bill since the Obama stimulus. Worse than the massive spending was the failure to secure promises made by Republican candidates from President Trump on down.
The GOP had a plan. We were going to keep spending constant – the only exception was a small increase in defense spending to get our military back to normal after the Obama years of “leading from behind.” On the House side, we had enough Republicans to pass a bill that would help our men and women in uniform without breaking the bank.
In the Senate, it takes 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. That means we had to work across party lines, since we need nine Democrats to endorse any spending deal. Unfortunately, there are not even nine fiscally conservative Democrats over there. Not one Democrat voted for tax cuts. In order to pass this budget our leadership caved to nine votes, and the results were terrible. Compromise is fine, but bankruptcy is not.
Why does every budget process come down to the wire? To a shutdown scenario? When the same process unfolds 10 times in a row, it might not be a coincidence. It might be intentional. The Swamp has it down to a science. Cronies won again.
The result of this bipartisan “compromise” is the largest spending bill since the Obama stimulus. Worse than the massive spending was the failure to secure promises made by Republican candidates from President Trump on down.
The bill lacks any funding for a wall. It actually forbids funding any walls made out of concrete, so all of President Trump’s prototypes are out of consideration. The money allocated for border security will go towards fixing a few fences. You heard that right – fences. No rational option like that a bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. No end to sanctuary cities. Chaos remains in place.
While Americans are being denied wall funding, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will get millions in federal taxpayer money for an earmark called the Gateway Tunnel – a tunnel that’ll connect New Jersey and New York. Why does the average American taxpayer have to pay for a special- interest project for the financial capital of the world?
The bill also continues to fund Planned Parenthood in opposition to our own values and platform. Taxpayers are paying for a group that spends millions of dollars to run political advertisements against Republicans. Why should we fund our political opposition?
We thought we had the opportunity to end unconstitutional sanctuary cities with this bill. Right now, the federal government provides millions of dollars in subsidies to cities like New York and San Francisco that refuse to enforce the law. Congress has the power of the purse. This is not acceptable. We are a nation of laws. Period.
Many of my conservative colleagues and I could not support this bill because it violated the principles and promises we made to the people. We voted no.
We can still win. The Senate actually said it will not do a budget at all next year. The president and the House can insist that we change course next week. Please engage in the process and make sure we hear the voice of the silent majority who do not accept national bankruptcy. Silence is not an option. Let’s win.
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