Congress can’t seem to shake its spending problem. On Wednesday, the House passed six out of twelve spending bills, packaged into one bill called a “minibus,” to the tune of over $450 billion. That is $70 billion over the caps established by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) earlier this year and $30 billion more than former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) 2023 levels. Keep in mind, the total national debt is $34.5 trillion and the federal deficit for this fiscal year is already $531 billion – meaning the government has already spent over half a trillion dollars more than they have brought in through taxes!
As usual, Congress has included spending provisions that can only be described as idiotic and some downright dangerous. For example, our tax dollars will be used for $15 million to implement nationwide electronic tracking of all cattle. Not only is that an encroachment on small ranches, but it opens the door to begin limiting beef production, something climate activists have been pushing for years. This program has not been approved by Congress before and yet it has been slipped into this must-pass bill.
Heritage Foundation’s David Ditch exposed the most egregious policies from fake emergency funding to greedy earmarks. With the nation drowning in debt and the lack of any Republican policy wins, these provisions seem especially irresponsible. Here are some of the most insulting parts of the minibus:
“Emergency Funding”
While it’s common to have an emergency fund, it is confusing as to why the following items are considered emergencies. It appears lawmakers have found a budget loophole to spend even more money! Spending designated as “emergency funding” does not have to be counted in the overall appropriations total even though it still adds to the deficit. Many of these line items are normal, reoccurring expenses that should be counted in the spending totals. They are:
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$100 million to the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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$125 million for security at the Republican National Convention and Democrat National Convention.
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$450 million for NASA space exploration and an additional $250 million to NASA for “construction and environmental compliance.”
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$234 million for the National Science Foundation’s “research equipment and facilities construction.”
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$8 billion for housing welfare programs.
Earmarks
Lawmakers always enjoy bragging about all the goodies they bring home for their districts. These are called earmarks and too many Americans dislike earmarks – unless they are for their hometown! Thousands of small programs add up to an assault on our paychecks. It’s not just the people of that district who are paying for it, but everyone across the nation is forced to fund these items. While some of these projects seem innocent, our crippling debt says otherwise. Here are some of the earmarks that made it into the minibus:
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$1 million was slated for an LGBTQ center in Pennsylvania that hosts sex parties. After Libs of TikTok exposed the perverted activities occurring there, Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey (D) and John Fetterman (D), original sponsors of the provision, rescinded their support. The embarrassed Democrats removed this provision by unanimous consent.
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Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) received $5 million for a revitalization center for the Ojibwe tribe and $1.4 million for a solar energy system in Viola, WI despite low sunlight in the area.
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Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) received a $4 million sewer system upgrade for Pelican, Alaska which has a population of 98 people costing $40,000 per person.
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Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) got $10 million for a wastewater project in Union, West Virginia with a population of 653 people totaling $15,000 per person. They also received $2.7 million for a bike park in White Sulphur Springs, WV that has 2,200 residents.
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Maple syrup suppliers received a $6 million
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Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (D-ME) received $1 million for a workforce transportation study in Bath, Maine, a recurring earmark that has produced no growth. They also scored $20.5 million for Presque Isle Airport which provides one commercial airline.
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Brian Schatz (D-HI) got $9.5 million for a mass transit system in the Kailua-Kona base yard. Hawaii’s transportation systems – from roads to airports to light rails – have been in constant dysfunction.
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Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) got $500,000 for the NAACP Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) received $3.5 million for The Parade Company, the Detroit-based manufacturer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats, and an additional $2.5 million for outdoor recreation like kayaking.
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Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are giving $1 million to the environmental activist group WE ACT that will bolster their Get Out the Vote campaign.
The cuts in spending and policy were few and far between. The biggest slash was a decrease in the Hazardous Substance Superfund by $745 million which has been used as a slush fund. While there was a $12.44 billion recission to the Department of Commerce, it was for a program that was never intended to continue at all.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a staunch fiscal conservative, lamented the passage of the appropriations packaged by posting on X:
Budget gimmicks and earmarks are an intoxicating cocktail. After 14 months sober, Congress has fallen off the wagon. By a vote of 339 to 85, the Republican-led House just passed a minibus that spends tens of billions more than Pelosi’s House spent on the same things last year.
The rest of the appropriations bills are set to expire on March 22. With agencies such as the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, and more, this will be an even greater fight. We applaud the 85 House Members who stood up against the corruption of federal government spending and hope that more hold the line on the next set of appropriations bills.
