All spending bills must come from the house, not the senate. This shows me that republicans are selling us down the socialist road still.
In order to get around this small problem (the US Constitution), the Senate takes an already existing spending bill that originated in the House, completely guts it of its provisions, fills it back up with new amendments and sends it back to the house. Bingo, an end run!
Also, as per your tag line, it is not "Mitch" McConnell, it is as of today from Obama, "Mike" McConnell!