Free Republic

The House Freedom Caucus hates the massive government-funding bill: Spending levels are billions of dollars higher than what conservatives wanted, and at least two top policy priorities — language addressing Syrian refugees and so-called sanctity of life — were cut. But unlike past fiscal battles, when lawmakers took shots at GOP leaders and tried to tank bills, this time conservatives are largely holding their fire. Even as they vow to oppose the package, many are still praising Speaker Paul Ryan’s handling of the $1.1 trillion spending bill and $680 billion in tax breaks.

The White House declared victory Wednesday over congressional Republicans in the budget negotiations that concluded lateTuesday night, saying Democrats beat back the GOP across the board. White House officials cited a long list of wins over majority Republicans on individual budget items ranging from funding for Planned Parenthood to an overall increase in spending beyond previous “sequestration” caps.

The 2,009 page fiscal 2016 spending deal that the Republican House leadership released today authorizes $1,205,146,000,000 in federal outlays between now and the end of fiscal 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and it does not prohibit funding of Planned Parenthood, according to the House Appropriations Committee. The spending bill is paired with a separate 233-page tax bill. “We are maintaining all of our pro-life protections, including the Hyde Amendment, and we are making cuts to the UNFPA program,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said of the omnibus spending bill at a press conference today. Planned Parenthood is the nation’s...

Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled a $1.6 trillion funding and tax package on late Tuesday night after weeks of negotiations with Democrats. The 2,009 page bill can be found here.  As compromises go, it could probably have been better. A lot of amendments important to conservatives were left out of the final package. For instance, there is no ban on admitting Syrian refugees and some of the tax provisions wanted by Democrats are in. Here are a few of the major tax items in the bill: The Hill: Ryan unveiled the details of the agreement while the political world was fixated on...

What better time than Christmas to spend other people's money and give presents to the environmental activists? In addition to the other generous handouts renewable companies would receive in the omnibus spending bill, backroom negotiators are also pushing for President Barack Obama's $3-billion pledge for the Green Climate Fund, a key component of the Paris climate change talks. Agreeing to allocate taxpayer dollars for the Green Climate Fund is effectively giving a congressional stamp of approval to the Paris Protocol. Congress should this reject this funding entirely.

Republican and Democratic negotiators in the House clinched a deal late Tuesday on a $1.1 trillion spending bill and a huge package of tax breaks. Legislative drafters, racing a midnight deadline, met the time limit for issuing the tax package but apparently missed it for the spending bill. That could push back a vote on the House floor by one day, until Friday. The late-hour tension emphasized the deep disagreements over an array of policy provisions that have left weeks of negotiations tinged with acrimony. Since the Republicans took back control of the House in 2011, a majority in the...

CHICAGO (CBS) — In a symbolic gesture to urge the governor and state lawmakers to come up with a budget, a group of community activists on Monday purchased Illinois Lottery tickets, and pledged to donate any winnings to the state. A week after Gov. Bruce Rauner signed stopgap legislation to resume payouts for Lottery winners – most of which had been halted due to the state’s budget impasse – a group of community leaders bought Powerball and scratch-off tickets on Monday.

Someone looking for the latest "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" trailer is going to be very confused if they accidentally click on this, but they might learn something new. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., is continuing his fight against government waste, continuing a crusade former Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., started, but with his own flare. Flake released "Wastebook: The Farce Awakens" Tuesday,...

Go here for all the latest on the House side where blogger Richard Falknor is tracking it at Blue Ridge Forum. Here is the news yesterday at World Net Daily from reporter Leo Hohmann with a catchy title: 'New date that will live in infamy: December 11′ Despite all the tough talk by Speaker Paul Ryan and GOP leaders in Congress about Syrian refugees and the need for better screening, the true intent of those leaders will be laid bare on Dec. 11. That's the day that a catch-all "omnibus" budget bill is scheduled to be voted on in the...

Congress is eyeing a year-end budget-busting tax cut blowout. Lawmakers’ latest effort to renew a hodgepodge of temporary tax breaks is swelling into a catch-all measure that could cost more than $800 billion over 10 years. The money would go for everything from extending generous write-offs for business investments to renewing tax credits for poor families to repealing or delaying Obamacare’s much-loathed Cadillac tax. All of it would be unpaid for, which is giving budget hawks nightmares.

Mitch McConnell plans to slip campaign cash rider in omnibus spending bill. Senate Republicans plan to insert a provision into a must-pass government funding bill that would vastly expand the amount of cash that political parties could spend on candidates, multiple sources tell POLITICO.The provision, which sources say is one of a few campaign-finance related riders being discussed in closed-door negotiations over a $1.15 trillion omnibus spending package, would eliminate caps on the amount of cash that parties may spend in coordination with their candidates. Pushed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a longtime foe of campaign finance restrictions, the...

On Saturday evening, Dov Bergwerk arrived at the Avis branch on West 76th Street and Broadway. Accompanied by his wife Ruth, the Bergwerks were planning to join friends for dinner in Westchester. Mr. Bergwerk, a senior vice president and general corporate counsel at the Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva, got out his driver's license, reservation number and "Wizard" loyalty card - he's rented from Avis dozens of times before - and anticipated the usual smooth transition into a nondescript mid-sized sedan. That's when the trouble started.

On Saturday evening, Dov Bergwerk arrived at the Avis branch on West 76th Street and Broadway. Accompanied by his wife Ruth, the Bergwerks were planning to join friends for dinner in Westchester. Mr. Bergwerk, a senior vice president and general corporate counsel at the Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva, got out his driver’s license, reservation number and “Wizard” loyalty card – he’s rented from Avis dozens of times before – and anticipated the usual smooth transition into a nondescript mid-sized sedan. That’s when the trouble started. A reservation agent named Angelline declined to honor Mr. Bergwerk’s reservation, saying that it was...

The Daily Caller (11/17, Follett) reports that according to Representative Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, NASA's dedication toward climate research has reduced the funding available for its planetary science and exploration efforts. In an email to the Daily Caller News Foundation, Smith stated, "The Obama administration has consistently tried to cut NASA's space exploration budgets in order to fund increases for Earth science programs," adding, "Just this year, the president proposed drastically cutting NASA's exploration systems by more than $440 million dollars while Earth Science accounts have increased by 63 percent over the...

Budgets: The next time you hear someone complain about how much a tax cut will "cost" the government, take it with a very large grain of salt. The official scorekeeper of such things is almost always wrong.

As he made clear, he's not going to 'pay' for more big government business as usual. At the CNBC debate on October 28, Ted Cruz 97%released his tax reform proposal, which I believe is the best of all the presidential candidates' plans. At Tuesday night's debate, Cruz released a spending reduction plan showing how he will pay for the tax cut involved in the tax reform plan. For the individual income tax under his tax reform, Cruz's plan provides for one flat rate of 10% on everything – wages, capital gains, dividends, personal business income, rent, interest, and all other...

Senate Democrats launched a third consecutive filibuster of the bipartisan defense appropriations bill yesterday, once again blocking consideration of legislation that would fund the United States military and pay members of our armed forces. Yes, it's okay to be thoroughly perplexed by this development. Remember, the ostensible reason that Democrats have engaged in this obstruction over recent months -- which also entailed filibustering the Veterans Affairs appropriations bill -- was to exploit the troops and veterans as leverage to force Republicans to agree to higher federal spending on unrelated matters. It was a cynical play, but thanks in part to President Obama's hyper-partisan veto, it...

See Mike Lee's Twitter page and his facebook post

When President Obama signs into law the new two-year budget deal Monday, his action will bring into sharper focus a part of his legacy that he doesn’t like to talk about: He is the $20 trillion man. Mr. Obama’s spending agreement with Congress will suspend the nation’s debt limit and allow the Treasury to borrow another $1.5 trillion or so by the end of his presidency in 2017. Added to the current total national debt of more than $18.15 trillion, the red ink will likely be crowding the $20 trillion mark right around the time Mr. Obama leaves the White...

The Senate approved the horrible budget deal last night while most of us were asleep at 3am: Ted Cruz last night called this budget deal a corrupt betrayal of the people as he spoke over an hour and a half. The vote was mostly Democrats voting to pass it but a fair number of Republicans voted for it as well. Here's how they voted: YEAs: 64 Alexander (R-TN) Ayotte (R-NH) Baldwin (D-WI) Barrasso (R-WY) Bennet (D-CO) Blumenthal (D-CT) Booker (D-NJ) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Cantwell (D-WA) Capito (R-WV) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Coons (D-DE)...