Holiday Spending Spree
It’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas: Like a student rushing to finish the last essay of the semester, or a guest writer struggling to turn in the morning newsletter on time, congressional leaders have hastily agreed to a spending plan just days before the federal government was due to partially shut down for lack of funds.
Last night, lawmakers announced they’d reached a deal on a sprawling 1,547-page bill that will keep the government open through mid-March, reported The Wall Street Journal late Tuesday night.
In addition to maintaining funding levels for existing programs, the spending package includes an additional $100 billion for “disaster relief” programs and another $10 billion in farm subsidies, says the Associated Press.
The additional spending, plus the short amount of time lawmakers will have to review the legislation, has angered Republican fiscal hawks.
“1,500+ pages, billions in reckless and unpaid spending, new bills that we have no time to review and wouldn’t have passed otherwise—business as usual in Washington!” said Sen. Rick Scott (R–Fla.) on X last night.
A “clean CR,” right? 1,500+ pages, billions in reckless and unpaid spending, new bills that we have no time to review and wouldn’t have passed otherwise—business as usual in Washington!
Yet another reason we need President Trump and @DOGE to help us stop this crap and clean the…
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) December 18, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R–La.) has tried to quell discontent in his own party by saying that he’d pushed for a “clean” continuing resolution, but that the urgent need to provide disaster relief necessitated billions in additional spending be included in the deal.
Democrats are generally pleased with the package, although support is not unanimous.
The spending deal includes a number of benefits for lawmakers themselves. It lifts a pay freeze that’s been in place since 2009 and allows elected officials to opt out of having to buy health insurance on Obamacare exchanges, reports Punchbowl News.
Rep. Jared Golden (D–Maine) has said he’ll vote “no” on the spending deal so long as congressional pay increases are in the bill.
For those counting votes, Rep. Jared Golden is signaling he’s a no because of the pay increase for members
“….Until the pay freeze is reinstated, I will not vote for this CR.” pic.twitter.com/NzM7XONxuy
— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) December 18, 2024
Pay raises for lawmakers aren’t the only sweetheart provisions of the spending deal. Also tucked inside is language that would transfer the federally owned Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., to the city government (paving the way for turning the site into a stadium for the Washington Commanders), money for rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and crackdowns on trade with China and pharmacy-benefit managers.
This time, it’s personal: One aspect of the deal that is of particular interest to Reason readers, and I suppose Reason writers as well, is a one-year extension of the State Depart
Article from Reason.com
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