The House of Representatives had less than 24 hours to review spending bills, totaling 2,000+ pages and worth $1.4 trillion, to keep the government fund through the next fiscal year.
Despite the small time frame, the representatives passed the bill in order to avert a shutdown, which would have happened on Friday.
In total, the House voted on 12 spending bills, which “allots $49 billion in funding across the government.”
From CNBC:
- $1.375 billion for Trump’s prized barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, the same amount as the prior year but less than he desires
- $25 million for gun violence research — the first time the effort has received funding in two decades
- A 3.1% increase in pay for both military members and federal civilian employees
- A $22 billion hike in defense spending
- $425 million for election security grants
- $1.5 billion for state grants to respond to the opioid crisis
However, representatives stuffed the bills with a lot of pork that has nothing to do with spending.
For instance, the bill includes making 21 the legal age to buy tobacco.
Congress also added tax extenders in the middle of the night:
The roster of add-ons grew over the weekend to include permanent repeal of a tax on high-cost “Cadillac” health insurance benefits and a hard-won provision to finance health care and pension benefits for about 100,000 retired union coal miners threatened by the insolvency of their pension fund. A tax on medical devices and health insurance plans would also be repealed permanently.The deficit tab for the package grew as well with the addition of $428 billion in tax cuts over 10 years to repeal the three so-called ObamaCare taxes.
Sounds great, but…
The “tax extenders” portion includes other sectors, which Forbes details in this article.
Congress also snuck in an extension of the Export-Import Bank and National Flood Insurance Program.
The bills head to the Senate and then Trump’s desk. Kellyanne Conway told the media Trump is “poised to sign” the bills and “very happy” about the contents.
Stop spending. Stop stuffing bills with pork.
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