'A Total Dumpster Fire': Conservatives Furious as GOP Leadership Strikes Deal on Massive Spending Bill

Government these days is highly complex.

Congress in many cases lacks the expertise to understand the executive branch bureaucracy.

They may have a few staffers who do understand the details but they are usually snapped up by the private or non-profit sector to become lobbyists or consultants.

In addition there are millions of scammers out there trying to game every government program in existence—and they become the de facto experts in their small area of concern.

At the end of the it is big government itself that is the enemy.

Everything has to be slashed—and yes lots of terrible mistakes will be made.

There are no good alternatives left.

Very nice reply.

A sarcastically say, every time the city budget showdown comes up, that eventually they will fund the police, firefighters and teachers because they appear to be the only thing in the city budget.

EC

Managing things you don’t understand is easy. The answer to them is NO! until you understand and then it is MAYBE and I’LL THINK ABOUT IT. Same as for managing kids. Hardly any decisions are urgent but undoing them can be impossible.

Agreed—that is the zero based budget approach.

Everything starts at zero.

Let those who want to spend any money justify its expenditure.

Happens every time!

W T F ? ? ? ?

Hill Leaders Slipped Scheme into Spending Bill to Block, Stymie Investigations into Congress

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/12/18/hill-leaders-slipped-scheme-into-spending-bill-to-block-stymy-investigations-of-congress/

https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1869426984134291902

I don’t know which is worse, that part or the new football stadium for D.C. NFL billionaires get welfare now.

Apparently doesn’t matter as the leadership - use that term with dripping sarcasm - has pulled it back and now the word is it’s dead. We will see.

At the end of the it is big government itself that is the enemy.

All too true. Politically, I'm a Constitutionalist. I believe that our system would be improved enormously if we reined in the federal government to just those powers explicitly established in the Constitution. I want the government to do only what it is directed to do, but to do that very well.

But when Robert Bork was being 'borked', in his hearings, he said that the "10th Amendment was essentially moot." This is terrible, and from a judge who was rejected for being too 'conservative."

The lack of Congressional expertise on various topics would be irrelevant for a lot of those functions which are not properly federal responsibility in the first place.

I had the opportunity years ago to walk the hallways of one of the civilian cabinet agencies and the person giving me the tour knew all the little details.

As we walked from office to office they explained exactly the duties performed there.

None of them were remotely related to anything in the Constitution.

All of them existed because over many decades lobbyists had carved out little fiefdoms to give grants, loans or favorable regulations to them.

If average Americans had a clue they would be grabbing the pitchforks.

IT DOES! https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1869407887983821089
I wanted to read the full 1,500+ page bill & speak with key leaders before forming an opinion. Having done that, here’s my view: it’s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO.

Keeping the government open until March 14 will cost ~$380BN by itself, but the true cost of this omnibus CR is far greater due to new spending. Renewing the Farm Bill for an extra year: ~$130BN. Disaster relief: $100BN. Stimulus for farmers: $10BN. The Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement: $8BN. The proposal adds at least 65 cents of new spending for every dollar of continued discretionary spending.

The legislation will end up hurting many of the people it purports to help. Debt-fueled spending sprees may “feel good” today, but it’s like showering cocaine on an addict: it’s not compassion, it’s cruelty. Farmers will see more land sold to foreign buyers when taxes inevitably rise to meet our obligations. Our children will be saddled with crippling debt. Interest payments will be the largest item in our national budget.

Congress has known about this deadline since they created it in late September. There’s no reason why this couldn’t have gone through the standard process, instead of being rushed to a vote right before Congressmen want to go home for the holidays. The urgency is 100% manufactured & designed to avoid serious public debate.

The bill could have easily been under 20 pages. Instead, there are dozens of unrelated policy items crammed into the 1,547 pages of this bill. There’s no legitimate reason for them to be voted on as a package deal by a lame-duck Congress. 72 pages worth of “Pandemic Preparedness and Response” policy; renewal of the much-criticized “Global Engagement Center,” a key player in the federal censorship state; 17 different pieces of Commerce legislation; paving the way for a new football stadium in D.C.; a pay raise for Congressmen & Senators and making them eligible for Federal Employee Health Benefits. It’s indefensible to ram these measures through at the last second without debate.

We’re grateful for DOGE’s warm reception on Capitol Hill. Nearly everyone agrees we need a smaller & more streamlined federal government, but actions speak louder than words. This is an early test. The bill should fail.

Johnson’s Massive CR Extends Censorship Entity’s Life
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2024/12/18/johnsons-massive-cr-extends-censorship-entitys-life-n4935236

House Speaker Mike Johnson is, once again, handing Democrats a gift and the American people a defeat with a massive and irresponsible omnibus spending bill — which includes an extension on a censorship entity that was supposed to be dismantled this year. How can Republicans expect to win the next election if they keep doing the same thing that Democrats would do?

Donald Trump has raised hopes by establishing a new Department of Government Efficiency to slash federal spending and activities, but he and DOGE could find that hard to do in 2025 if this continuing resolution is passed. Among the disturbing provisions of the 1,500-page legislation is a provision for extending the existence of the censorship-funding Global Engagement Center (GEC). The State Department had previously notified Congress that GEC was being dismantled .. but here comes Johnson to save the day for censors and bring GEC back from the dead. Do Republican leaders just let Democrats write legislation and sign off on whatever it is?

America was already spending more than $1 trillion just to service the debt in September, as government spending fueled inflation. Breitbart reported the current CR is crammed with tens of billions of dollars in pork. As DOGE’s Vivek Ramaswamy said, the bill should fail.

...

This CR must not pass, no matter what talking points Johnson spouts to justify it. It is bloated, wasteful, and anti-constitutional in its funding. In fact, it is business as usual in Washington, D.C.; nothing has yet changed in House Republican leadership’s behavior despite the massive GOP victory in the 2024 election. American taxpayers deserve better.

Mammoth spending bill has clause that would let Congress block subpoenas for House data, “potentially preventing any investigation into the J6 Committee”

https://notthebee.com/article/new-spending-bill-has-clause-that-would-let-congress-block-subpoenas-for-house-data-potentially-preventing-any-investigation-into-the-j6-committee

The government funding bill includes a one-year extension of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), an agency that funds organizations that censor conservative media including Breitbart News.

The provision extending funding for the program is on page 139 of the 1,537-page continuing resolution, which was unveiled Tuesday night just hours before the House will vote on the short-term spending bill.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/12/18/spending-bill-subsidizes-state-departments-conservative-censorship-slush-fund/

40% pay raise. MY SS COLA WILL BE $30.
Congress Gives Itself a Raise with Last-Minute, 1,547-Page Spending Deal
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/12/17/congress-gives-itself-raise-last-minute-1547-page-spending-deal/
A 1,547-page spending deal was released Tuesday night will give members of Congress a raise.
The lame-duck continuing resolution (CR) unveiled just three days before a potential government shutdown strips a provision included in spending bills since 2009 to block automatic raises for Congress, effectively giving senators and House members a raise.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the top Democrat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, explained in 2023 that the so-called “Member Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) automatically takes effect unless it is blocked.”

BETRAYAL. GOP Rift Opens Over Social Security Bill
CAN YOU WORK TILL 70? TO FUND PORK?
[https://www.newsmax.com/.../republ.../2024/12/18/id/1192079/](https://www.newsmax.com/.../republ.../2024/12/18/id/1192079/)
NO, NO, H NO! YOU SPENT OUT SS, MEDICARE ON ILLEGALS, LTBQ, AND PORK, MIDDLE MEN. YOU STOLE OUR REITREMENT. MY HUSBAND’S TINY MILITARY PENSION DOESN’T AMOUNT TO A HILL OF BEANS. YOU LET THAT SENILE FOOL BANKRUPT AMERICA, FOR HIS UKRAINE WAR AND ILLEGALS.

KICK THE BIDEN’S OF SS THEY GET $50 K A YEAR, PLUS HIS PRESIDENTIAL RETIREMENT. Joe Biden in Line for a $413,000 Dual Pension Payout upon Departing the Presidency.