'This bill is a massive surrender': Chip Roy and other conservatives blast spending package that cleared the House



In a bipartisan, 339-85 vote, the House of Representatives voted to pass a spending package that conservative lawmakers staunchly opposed, sending the matter to the Senate.

While Republicans hold the House majority, 207 Democrats supported the package that pertains to government funding, compared to 132 Republicans. Just 83 Republicans and two Democrats voted against the package.

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GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas is one of the Republicans who blasted the package.

"At the beginning of this Congress, House Republicans set out to cut spending and end the Biden administration policies destroying the American people's way of life and prosperity. This bill is a massive surrender to the swamp's business as usual on both fronts," Roy said in part of a statement.

"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," GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted.

GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah responded to Massie's tweet, writing, "Like a dog to its vomit (Proverbs 26:11), congressional Republicans have returned to earmarks. This will not end well for the GOP. We lose elections when we act like Democrats."

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GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia tweeted, "I voted NO on the first half of the Swamp’s omnibus. It ultimately passed with MORE DEMOCRAT votes than Republican votes—which, unfortunately, has been the norm for every 'must pass' bill in our *Republican* majority. Disappointing is an understatement—but our fight isn't over. In the coming weeks, we'll consider the second half of the omnibus. Will more Republicans join the fight to stop funding Joe Biden's radical agenda? I surely hope so. Stay tuned."

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These 18 Republican senators joined with Dems in passing a massive spending package



Eighteen Republican senators voted with Democrats on Thursday to pass a massive spending package of around $1.7 trillion.

The list of Republican senators who voted for the omnibus includes:

  • Roy Blunt of Missouri
  • John Boozman of Arkansas
  • Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
  • Susan Collins of Maine
  • John Cornyn of Texas
  • Tom Cotton of Arkansas
  • Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
  • Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma
  • Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
  • Jerry Moran of Kansas
  • Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
  • Rob Portman of Ohio
  • Mitt Romney of Utah
  • Mike Rounds of South Dakota
  • Richard Shelby of Alabama
  • John Thune of South Dakota
  • Roger Wicker of Mississippi
  • Todd Young of Indiana
The mammoth measure that runs thousands of pages long cleared the chamber in a 68-29 vote and will need to clear the House before heading to President Biden's desk.

"There's no way that anybody has read this bill that we just voted on," GOP Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said in a video posted on social media — he described the spending measure, which he voted against, as an "inflation bomb."
\u201cI voted AGAINST the $1.7 TRILLION spending bill because I promised Florida families I'd fight every day to make Washington work for them. \n\nThis reckless inflation bomb is a disaster for our economy and a slap in the face to Floridians struggling to make ends meet.\u201d
— Rick Scott (@Rick Scott) 1671737394

"Due to the disastrous polices of Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats, inflation is out of control, the border is wide open, and crime is soaring," GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said in a statement. "This $1.7 trillion spending boondoggle will drive inflation and prices even higher. For the sake of Texan and American families I voted no."

"It is the height of recklessness for Senate Republican leadership to cut a deal with House Democrats who were just voted out of power and give away the leverage that the incoming Republican majority in the House of Representatives could have used to force the Biden administration to change course on policies that are harming America," Cruz noted.

Romney, who voted for the measure, said that he would have liked it to have been less costly.

"I wish the number were smaller, but I am convinced that if we were to reject this budget and kick the can down the road until next year, we would end up having to spend even more," the Utah Republican said, according to a press release. "The process for government funding must change in the next Congress, and allow for individual appropriations bills to be voted on in regular order, instead of being combined into large catch-all bills which force us to vote for the bad to get the good. I remain committed to working with my colleagues to change this process in order to ultimately rein in our deficit and reduce our debt."

Senate sends massive $1.5 trillion spending package to President Biden even as Americans get hammered by soaring inflation



The U.S. Senate passed a massive $1.5 trillion spending package on Thursday, sending it to President Biden even as Americans suffer under the financial strain caused by skyrocketing inflation.

The package passed in a bipartisan 68 to 31 vote. It will fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, which runs through the end of September. It increases defense and nondefense spending compared to fiscal 2021. It also includes funding related to Ukraine.

The spending package also includes earmarks — the Wall Street Journal performed a review which discovered that around $9.7 billion is going toward earmarks. An amendment from Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) to cut the earmarks from the package failed to pass — the vote on the amendment was 64-35.

The Senate cleared the spending the very same day that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new consumer price index data that showed prices continuing their disturbing upward trajectory. According to BLS, the consumer price index climbed 0.8% in February.

"The all items index rose 7.9 percent for the 12 months ending February. The 12-month increase has been steadily rising and is now the largest since the period ending January 1982," BLS reported.

Americans are feeling pain at the pump as gas prices skyrocket, and the situation could get even worse in the days ahead.

President Biden recently signed an executive order banning the importation of Russian oil into the U.S. The order prohibits importing "crude oil; petroleum; petroleum fuels, oils, and products of their distillation; liquefied natural gas; coal; and coal products" from Russia.

House passes massive $1.5 trillion spending package even as Americans suffer under the strain of high inflation



Even as Americans continue suffering under the financial strain caused by high inflation, the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a massive $1.5 trillion spending package.

The measure, which was passed in two votes, will head to the Senate.

The plan will fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. It will raise defense and nondefense spending as compared to the prior year. The package also includes funding related to Ukraine. It also contains earmarks for lawmakers in both parties.

Americans are suffering under the financial strain of rapidly skyrocketing gas prices, and the situation could get even worse in the days ahead.

President Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order banning the importation of Russian crude oil and other products, a move meant to turn up the heat on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The order prohibits importation of "crude oil; petroleum; petroleum fuels, oils, and products of their distillation; liquefied natural gas; coal; and coal products" from Russia.

Last month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the January consumer price index data that showed rapid price increases.

"The all items index rose 7.5 percent for the 12 months ending January, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending February 1982," BLS reported.

BLS scheduled to release February consumer price index data on Thursday.

Funding for 'tree equity,' 'high-performance green buildings' included in Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending plan



New details from the massive $3.5 trillion spending package being pushed by Biden administration officials and Democratic lawmakers show that included in the bill are large sums of money for climate-conscious initiatives such as "tree equity" and "high-performance green buildings."

What are the details?

The final draft of the behemoth Build Back Better Act was released Saturday by Democrats on the House Budget Committee and it is already facing heavy scrutiny from many Americans.

Critics have pounced on several provisions in the bill, including one that earmarks an additional $79 billion over the next decade for the Internal Revenue Service so that the agency can ramp up its tax enforcement efforts and others that award millions toward race and gender-based bias training.

But two climate provisions included in the legislation are also sure to raise some eyebrows.

According to the bill's text, $3 billion will be earmarked for the Department of Agriculture to provide grants "for tree planting and related activities to increase community tree canopy and associated societal and climate co-benefits, with a priority for projects that increase tree equity."

Under the bill's guidelines, the Agriculture secretary shall give priority in awarding grants to "underserved populations" or communities in which 30% or more of the population lives below the poverty line.

Additionally, the General Services Administration, which helps manage and support federal agencies, is slated to receive $1 billion for the purpose of converting its federal facilities into "high-performance green buildings" designed to reduce environmental impact.

What's 'tree equity'?

In its coverage of the provision, the New York Post cited American Forests, a conservation nonprofit organization that explains "tree equity" is the notion that there should be "enough trees in specific neighborhoods or municipalities for everyone to experience the health, economic and climate benefits that trees provide."

On its website, American Forests says, "Trees are more than scenery for our cities, they are critical infrastructure that every person in every neighborhood deserves — a basic right that we must secure."

The nonprofit even put a new spin on a popular national phrase, pledging, "One nation, under forests."

Is there a theme in this spending bill?

Both the "tree equity" and "green buildings" initiatives fall in line with one of the spending bill's major themes: climate consciousness.

As such, making good on President Biden's promise, the bill allots $2.25 billion "to be used for staffing, salaries, and other workforce needs to support the development of a Civilian Climate Corps for the purposes of managing National Forest System land."

Once funded, the team of environment protectors will be commissioned to various parts of the country to fight climate change on the taxpayer's dime.

Bernie Sanders: Enough 'talk about numbers,' now is 'the time to borrow' for gargantuan spending packages



Outspoken socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) lamented this week all the "talk about numbers" and "process" surrounding the Biden administration's mammoth $6 trillion budget proposal, arguing such needless deliberation ignores "the needs of working-class Americans."

Rather than carefully considering spending trillions of dollars in taxpayer money, the senator proclaimed that Congress should just borrow the money now and figure out how to pay for it later.

Speaking with MSNBC's Chris Hayes on Sunday about the spending package, Sanders said, "One of the things that has bothered me in the last month or so is this: a lot of talk about numbers — $6 trillion, big number — a lot of talk about process. You know what there is not a lot of talk about? About the needs of working-class Americans and what we have got to do."

Sanders went on to argue that with "real wages" in America today "lower than they were 48 years ago" and wealth disparity only increasing, Congress must act quickly to retain the faith of the American people. To do so, he argued, lawmakers must make gargantuan investments in progressive wish list items such as climate initiatives, free education, free health care, paid family leave, housing stipends, and more.

"First of all, you got to deal with climate. Right now, the West Coast is, you know, aflame in a sense," he said. "It's record-breaking, heatwave, Australia, etc. We have got to deal with climate. And if we do not significantly invest in transforming our energy system, future generations will never forgive us."

Bernie Sanders: People Are 'Sick And Tired' Of Working For Inadequate Wages youtu.be

"We have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country on Earth," he continued. "That is why we have to extend or make permanent the child tax credit, $300 per child for working-class families. Does anyone deny that our child care system is totally dysfunctional? We've got to deal with that."

"In the richest country on Earth, you got to elderly people have no teeth in their mouth because Medicare does not cover dental, we don't cover hearing aids, we don't cover eyeglasses. We have got to do that. We have got to have universal pre-K. We have got to have a major housing bill ... we got to make higher education affordable," the lawmaker noted.

Near the end of Sanders' lengthy rundown, even Hayes appeared to grow weary.

The left-leaning anchor asked: "Is there some part of you that worries about a level of spending that is too much for the economy to deal with?

In response, Sanders trotted out his classic argument, asserting that the programs would be largely covered "by demanding that the wealthiest people and largest corporations start paying their fair share of taxes."

But then the socialist lawmaker acknowledged that for the excess, borrowing and figuring out how to pay it back later will do, given the current low interest rates.

"Let me tell you, what I think most economists would agree with, and that is, at a time when we have record-breaking low interest rates, now is precisely the time to borrow and invest in one-time infrastructure projects," he said.

Biden planning $3 trillion in new spending on infrastructure, climate change, free community college​, universal pre-K



The Biden administration is reportedly preparing a massive spending package totaling at least $3 trillion aimed at addressing a host of major policy priorities such as jobs, infrastructure, climate change, education, and income inequality.

News of the mammoth package shows the new administration plans to waste little time introducing trillions of dollars in government spending into the economy as it comes only weeks after a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package was passed by Congress and signed into law.

According to the New York Times, the White House may split the effort into two separate bills in order to make it more appealing in Congress, the first proposal likely being a major infrastructure plan funded through tax hikes on corporations and the rich. The second proposal would reportedly focus on other domestic priorities related to students and those left behind in the job market. It would include universal prekindergarten, free community college tuition, expanded child care, and a national paid leave program.

The Washington Post reported that the infrastructure component of the proposal is set to include "$400 billion in spending to combat climate change, including $60 billion for infrastructure related to green transit and $46 billion for climate-related research and development."

The total spending proposal, as well as how it will be paid for, is reportedly still under discussion and is subject to change. However, the final legislation is all but certain to include in a litany of tax increases.

Reports surfaced last week indicating that the administration was planning the largest tax hike in nearly 30 years to fund domestic policy initiatives. Among the specific tax increases under consideration were raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, raising the income tax rate on individuals earning more than $400,00, and implementing a higher capital gains tax rate for individuals earning at least $1 million annually.

"President Biden and his team are considering a range of potential options for how to invest in working families and reform our tax code so it rewards work, not wealth. Those conversations are ongoing, so any speculation about future economic proposals is premature and not a reflection of the White House's thinking," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

Tax increases of any kind are likely to be a non-starter for Republicans, but it remains to be seen how the chips will fall once negotiations begin. After all, Democrats were able to sneak $60 billion in new tax hikes into the coronavirus relief bill without hardly anyone noticing.