Free Republic

Ann Coulter: ‘In One Generation’ U.S. Will Be ‘South Africa,’ Trump ‘Betrayed’ Voters with ‘Paul Ryan Republicanism’ "“I can’t imagine how it could be any worse,” Coulter said. “There’s zero funding for the wall, and in fact, he’s prevented from putting up even one little inch from those prototypes. No, all he can do is build a little pedestrian fence. Nothing that he’s been looking at. None of the prototypes, totally banned.” More at link:

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) In accordance with section 7058(d) of division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 1625; the “Act”), I hereby designate as an emergency requirement all funding so designated by the Congress in the Act pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, for the accounts referenced in section 7058(d). The details of this action are set forth in the enclosed memorandum from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Sincerely, DONALD J. TRUMP

Checking the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public Law 93–344, 88 Stat. 297, 2 U.S.C. §§ 601–688) online: Part B, Section 1011-1012 and related (identified elsewhere as Title X) within the Act (also known as the Impoundment Control Act of 1974), specifies that the President may request that Congress rescind appropriated funds. The timeline for approval by both the house and senate is 45 days.

President Donald Trump briefly threatened to veto a giant spending bill on Friday and then reluctantly signed it to keep the military funded. The lack of funding for a border wall with Mexico is likely one of the president’s biggest frustrations. Trump mentioned the wall when he threatened to veto the bill. The $1.3 trillion budget includes just $1.6 billion for wall construction along the southern border, far short of the $25 billion needed to accomplish Trump’s signature campaign promise. To make matters worse, the spending bill specifically prohibits Trump from building the kind of wall he wants. The president...

Full Title: Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate Budget & Spending Issued on: March 23, 2018 Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) In accordance with section 7058(d) of division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 1625; the “Act”), I hereby designate as an emergency requirement all funding so designated by the Congress in the Act pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, for the accounts referenced in section 7058(d). The details of this action are...

To the Freepers blaming Trump for the Omnibus: Please state what he should have done including the aftermath. Many wanted a veto, but never address the subsequent steps necessary for a ‘win’. I love Free Republic and the thoughtful, intelligent commentary. Yet I was stunned to see so many comment on various posts with such little insight. Trump cannot write legislation nor can he make politicians do anything. What role do voters play? It seems that most expect Trump to fix everything while we as voters do nothing. We voted for the uniparty. We don’t march on Washington, we send...

POTUS Trump just signed an Omnibus bill, NOT a federal budget! The appropriations in the bill are "suggestions" of how Trump SHOULD spend the money. Since this is not a budget, Trump is not bound by The Constitution to spend the money as appropriated. The Demonrats screwed themselves again by not passing a federal budget. I'm here to tell you that Trump's Wall shall indeed be funded with money from this Omnibus bill! President Donald J. Trump outsmarted these fools, once again!! Haahaa!!

And let's begin by discussing how to maintain economic growth by controlling and eventually eliminating the problem of Federal deficits. We have had a balanced budget only eight times in the last 57 years. For the first time in 14 years, the Federal Government spent less in real terms last year than the year before. We took $73 billion off last year's deficit compared to the year before. The deficit itself has moved from 6.3 percent of the gross national product to only 3.4 percent. And perhaps the most important sign of progress has been the change in our view...

Want some perspective on the debt ceiling negotiations and calls for tax increases in exchange for spending cuts? You might want to consider a cautionary tale dating back to 1982 when President Ronald Reagan agreed to a deficit-reduction compromise—and a result he didn’t bargain for. Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, who served under President Reagan, and Heritage Action for America’s Michael Needham write in today’s USA Today of the agreement Reagan struck in 1982 in hopes of tackling high deficits. He agreed to a modest increase in business taxes (which he didn’t like) in exchange for spending cuts (which...

You owe it to your country, Sir, to pick them up, dust them off, and ready them for the coming new battle. Unfortunately, Round 2 has already slipped away from ‘Making America Great Again’ to ‘Saving America Again’ It was, as a caller told Rush Limbaugh today, a snake bite in the butt, President Trump. Your suddenly changing course and signing the outrageous Omnibus Bill, that is. Up to now, you’ve done a good job remaining loyal to the things you promised some 63 million people who voted for you. Now many of them will say you are a politician...

Just hours after threatening a veto, President Trump said Friday afternoon that he had signed the sweeping $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress early Friday and averted a government shutdown. In a morning tweet, Trump said he might veto the omnibus bill because it does nothing to address the fate of young undocumented immigrants known as “dreamers” and does not fully fund his border wall. But speaking to reporters at the White House about four hours later, Trump said he had decided to sign the bill despite his reservations, arguing that it provides much-needed funding for the military, including...

The satellite communications industry was shocked to see a $600 million addition for WGS-11 and WGS-12.WASHINGTON — In a surprise last-minute add-on, House appropriators included $600 million in the Air Force budget for two high-capacity communications satellites made by Boeing that the Pentagon did not request. The omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018 funds two Wideband Global SATCOM satellites, WGS-11 and WGS-12. The Air Force did not request funding for these spacecraft nor were these satellites included in any previous marks of the congressional defense committees, or in the fiscal year 2019 budget request. This was a very large...

Update: President Trump announced that he is signing the spending bill as a "matter of national security." But he also said, "there are a lot of things I’m unhappy about" in the measure. Earlier report Just hours after threatening a veto, President Trump appeared set to back down and sign a sweeping $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress early Friday and avoid a government shutdown, according to senior legislative aides. In a morning tweet, Trump said he might veto the omnibus bill because it does nothing to address the fate of young undocumented immigrants known as “dreamers” and does...

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Outnumbered Overtime,” House Freedom Caucus member Scott Perry (R-PA) stated that no one could have read the omnibus bill before the House voted on it. Perry said, “[W]e get the bill, 2,232 pages last night at 8:30. … But you could have stayed up all night anyhow, into right now, and read the bill, and you still wouldn’t be done. So, it — look, it’s not good when the other side does it, and it’s not good when this side does it. We want to know what we’re voting on.”

Wow, Omnibus bill rushed through both House and Senate without discussion, now to President Trump. Not just the balance of the year, but for many items, for the next three years! Planned Parenthood, token amount for wall and prohibition to build further, funding for sanctuary cities, funding for ObamaCare, new 2nd amendment infringements, and more.

RUSH: Here’s Chuck You Schumer. This is in Washington today on the Senate floor. Audio sound bite No. 24. SCHUMER: Overall, we Democrats are very happy with what we’ve been able to accomplish on a number of very important priorities to the middle class in America: infrastructure, education, opioid treatment, mental health, child care. This spending agreement brings that era of austerity to an unceremonious end and represents one of the most significant investments in the middle class in decades. RUSH: I don’t know, folks. I just want to puke when I hear this stuff. I just want to vomit....

The 2,232 page Omnibus bill includes a specific clause barring funding for a wall on the southern border that mirrors the new prototypes already there. The bill reads: The amounts designated in subsection (a)(2) through (a)(4) shall only be available for operationally effective designs deployed as of the date of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, (Public Law 115–31), such as currently deployed steel bollard designs, that prioritize agent safety.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House easily approved a bipartisan $1.3 trillion spending bill Thursday that pours huge sums into Pentagon programs and domestic initiatives ranging from building roads to combatting the nation's opioid abuse crisis, but left Congress in stalemate over shielding young Dreamer immigrants from deportation and curbing surging health insurance premiums. The vote was 256-167, a one-sided tally that underscored the popularity of a budget deal among party leaders that provided enough money to address many of both sides' priorities. Further highlighting how eager lawmakers were to claim victories, the House approved the 2,232-page package — which stood...

House Republicans’ spending chief told his colleagues Wednesday that there is no waste in the $1.3 trillion spending bill lawmakers are rushing through Congress this week. “We’ve worked to make sure not a dollar is wasted,” Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, New Jersey Republican, said as he defended the massive bill before the House Rules Committee, pushing back against bipartisan frustration from lawmakers who said they couldn’t stomach voting on a 2,232-page bill with less than 24 hours’ time to read it. But no less than President Trump disagreed with him, taking to Twitter to say he “had to waste money on...

Coongressional leaders have finalized a sweeping $1.3 trillion budget bill that substantially boosts military and domestic spending but leaves behind young immigrant “Dreamers,” deprives President Donald Trump some of his border wall money, and takes only incremental steps to address gun violence. As negotiators stumbled toward an end-of-the-week deadline to fund the government or face a federal shutdown, House Speaker Paul Ryan dashed to the White House amid concerns Trump’s support was wavering. Although some conservative Republicans balked at the size of the spending increases and the rush to pass the bill, the White House said the president backed the...