Recently I voted NO on the minibus spending bills (H.R. 6157) and the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 302).
These were tough votes for me because there are policies in the bills I do support, including funding for our military and the largest pay raise in years for our troops, as well as funding for important medical research. But here is the bottom line: both bills continue our government’s excessive and reckless spending and the billions in disaster relief are not offset.
This isn’t how the budget process works. The House failed to do its job. We failed to pass 12 appropriations bills on time (which we did for FY18) and with the CR in place until December 7, Congress is set up to vote on a spending package during a lame-duck session making it more likely that it will be packed with last-minute giveaways to special interest groups.
Through August, Congress ran a budget deficit of $898 billion. Unfortunately too few of my colleagues in Congress are trying to resolve the fiscally unsustainable path our nation is on. Rest assured I will continue to vote against bloated omnibus spending bills.