FROM CONGRESSMAN GIBBS IN OHIO RE: MY MESSAGE TO HIM ABOUT CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS

Thank you for contacting my office regarding H.R. 83, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015. As your Representative in Congress, I appreciate your input on this issue.

The 2015 Omnibus Appropriations bill contains many important provisions that will protect jobs, stop wasteful spending, rein in government overreach, and bolster our national security efforts. Ideally, appropriations would be passed through regular order each year, rather than combined in an omnibus spending bill at the last minute. The House passed eight appropriations bills this summer which, unfortunately, were never taken up in the Senate.

This legislation funds discretionary spending, which accounts for approximately one-third of total federal spending. This discretionary spending funds all federal agencies including defense, along with supplemental funds for the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) to aid our fight against Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The other two-thirds of spending, not included in this legislation, is referred to as mandatory spending that funds Obamacare, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, food stamps and numerous welfare programs. Interest paid on our debt is of course mandatory spending. I refer to mandatory spending as being on autopilot. The continuing spending authority previously passed into law is ongoing only until legislation is passed to reform or change those programs. For the third year in a row, discretionary spending has been cut below the previous year and is approaching 2007 levels.

H.R. 83 provides funding for 11 of 12 annual appropriations bills and temporary funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through February 27, 2015. This temporary funding to DHS is in response to President Obama's decision to ignore immigration laws and delay deportation of millions of illegal immigrants. I strongly disagree with the President's decision to act unilaterally on immigration, and I look forward to taking action against his Executive Order in the 114th Congress.

Many aspects of this legislation further my priorities in Congress, and the following provisions highlight some of the policy changes adopted in this legislation. H.R. 83 cuts funding for the EPA for the fifth consecutive year and reduces its staffing levels to the lowest level since 1989. Additionally, this bill reduced funding for the IRS to $345 million below its Fiscal Year 2008 level. This reduction would prohibit funds for the IRS to target groups based on their political beliefs. With the recent discovery of the inexcusable treatment of our veterans, I was pleased to see this legislation included much needed reforms to our Veterans Affairs system. This bill addresses the VA's disability claims backlog, and would increase oversight efforts by $5 million over last year's level. This increase will provide the resources necessary to ensure our veterans have the best available patient care.

I was extremely pleased to see this bill prevents the Army Corps of Engineers from regulating farm ponds and irrigation ditches under the Clean Water Act. It also cuts 2/3rds of mandatory spending by changing permanent law for funding for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) under Obamacare and rolls back the Administration's restrictive school lunch regulations by providing schools flexibility and future standards will not take effect until supported by science. Lastly, this bill prohibits the EPA from regulating lead content in ammunition and fishing tackle and protects the sanctity of life by retaining all pro-life provisions that have been in previous appropriations bills.

While this bill is not perfect, it keeps Congress on track towards balancing the budget and strengthening the economy. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, this legislation saves $81 billion from last year's appropriation and $2.1 trillion over the next ten years. After careful consideration, I voted in favor of this legislation, which passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 219-206 and the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 56-40. I am pleased Congress fulfilled our Constitutional duty to fund the government. As Congress considers funding priorities in the 114th Congress, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind. Again, thank you for contacting my office. Please continue to keep me informed on the issues that are important to you. For more information on my work in Congress, or to sign up to receive my e-newsletter, please visit my website at: http://gibbs.house.gov. Sincerely,

Coats response to me:

Dear xxxxxxxxx

Thank you for contacting me regarding President Barack Obama’ s e xecutive o rder on immigration. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.

On November 20, 2014, President Obama chose to bypass Congress by announcing an executive order drastically changing our nation’s standards for immigration . This action will allow up to 5 million undocumented immigrants to bypass the legal system and obtain official status in the United States. I strongly believe that President Obama’s role is to faithfully execute our law s , not alter or ignore them as he sees fit. Th i s action exceed s his Constitutional authority and remove s the legislative branch from the policymaking process. I am currently working with my colleagues to explore all legislative and legal options to stop this executive order , including lawsuits and defunding implementation of the order. The President’s blatant disregard for our nation’s system of checks and balan ces m ust be addressed .

T he State of Indian a joined 16 other states in fil ing a lawsuit in an attempt to block the President’s action to grant legal status on December, 3, 2014. I support thi s action taken b y Governor Mike Pence. I am hopeful that this legal challenge filled by Indiana and many other states will be successful.

I understand the concern expressed by many Hoosiers that Congress should not fund President Obama’s unlawful executive amnesty plan through the appropriations process . However, the appropriations bill recently approved by the House and Sen ate does not fund the President’ s amnesty. The President is not using appropriations funds to implement his amnesty plan. Instead, the Administration plans to utilize visa fees, which are collected by the State Department and not funded through appropriations bills.

What Congress can do to stop President Obama’ s amnesty plan is pass a bill prohibiting the use of visa fees to implement the executive action, or attach this language as a rider on an appropriations bill. Republicans wanted to attach such a rider to the omnibus appropriations bill, but because Democrats still control the Senate, it had no chance of passing. This is why Republicans fought to fund the Department of Homeland Security only until February 27, 2015. By funding DHS only through February, a Republican House and Senate can attach a rider blocking Obama’s amnesty plan to the next DHS appropriations bill.

As the son of an immigrant, I understand the val ue of immigrants to our nation and know that our rich history and culture has been dependent on them. However, I believe this action would be a disservice to everyone who followed the law to immigrate to the United States legally . I also believe that securing our border should be our number one priority when it comes to immigration. Too many undocumented aliens continue to cross our Southern border and we will continue to face challenges if we do not secure it. The President’s action will provide a false sense of hope to many who wish to travel to our Southern border and compound the problems we currently face.

I will be sure to keep your views in mind as I work with my colleagues to stop this executive order and focus on practical and sensible measures to secur e the border and improve our immigration system.

Thank you again for contacting me. I welcome your thoughts and suggestions on other matters of importance to you in the future.

Sincerely,

Dan Coats
United States Senator

In case you think that the response was personal to you, please read the response from a totally different Congressman. These are all scripted replies.

Thank you for contacting me in opposition to the Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2015. I appreciate your interest in this important issue and welcome the opportunity to respond.

I have heard from many folks in Northeast Georgia regarding the recent passage of the Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act. As you may know, this bill includes full appropriations legislation and funding for most federal operations through the remainder of fiscal year 2015. The Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act passed the House with a vote of 219-206 on December 11, 2014.

While this bill is not perfect, it includes meaningful measures to reduce regulatory overreach, avoid shutdown, and improve the federal government. The Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act takes steps toward fiscal responsibility and abides by all the terms of the Ryan-Murray budget agreement. This legislation includes provisions to rein in the out-of-control EPA and IRS, prohibit funding for the IMF and the Administration’s “Race to the Top” program, and protects and expands on pro-life provisions laid out in previous appropriations measures. The package also contains vital emergency Overseas Contingency Operations funding to combat the emerging threat posed by the Islamic State.

Since the subject of immigration came up during discussion of this legislation, I want to take this opportunity to reassure you of my commitment to fighting the President’s executive actions concerning amnesty. While some claim that this funding bill was the right place to wage the fight on the immigration issue, I simply don’t believe that is true. Harry Reid remains the Senate majority leader for the next few weeks, and you know as well as I do that he would never allow legislation challenging the President’s immigration policy to come up for consideration in that chamber. Waiting until Republicans have the majority in both the House and Senate will significantly increase the likelihood of a successful outcome for those of us who believe in the rule of law. As one of the many Congressional Republicans committed to standing up to the President on this issue, look for me to introduce legislation in January.

As your voice in Congress, I’ve always been aware of my responsibility to make sometimes difficult choices on behalf of Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District. I truly believe we’ll agree much more than we disagree, but when we don’t see eye-to-eye, I understand the importance of discussing our points of view. I hope my explanation for my support of the Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act helps you see why I believe this bill was worth supporting, even if it didn’t include every provision you and I wanted. In short, this legislation sparks the fight against a lawless President. You can be sure I will continue supporting legislation in the new Congress that cuts wasteful spending, reduces our national debt, establishes a Balanced Budget Amendment that will force Washington to live within its means, and takes the President to task for his unconstitutional actions concerning immigration policy.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this matter with me. I look forward to continuing to advance our shared conservative principles in the 114th Congress.

Sincerely,

Doug Collins
Member of Congress

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