ALEXANDRIA, VA – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) excoriated Congress for offering a $1.1 trillion CRomnibus spending bill for the fiscal year (2015) that contains billions of dollars worth of earmarks. On Tuesday December 9, 2014, Congress released a 1,600-page spending bill crafted by House and Senate appropriators. Dubbed the “CRomnibus” because it combines a Continuing Resolution (CR), which funds government agencies in the absence of individual spending bills, and an Omnibus spending bill, which contains the individual spending bills, the legislation closes the chapter on one of the most unproductive sessions of Congress of all time.
The legislation contains full funding for 11 of the 12 appropriations, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) only receiving enough funds to operate into early 2015. There’s not much to praise when looking at both the substance of the bill and the manner in which it was delivered. Taxpayers will once again be left on the hook for spending that includes programs that are neither needed nor wanted. Further, the CRomnibus reminded taxpayers that earmarks are not dead. Defense appropriations contain 293 earmarks worth more than $13 billion,(click here for a full list), including four additional F-35 aircrafts (which have been plagued with problems) and $120 million for the Abrams tank that the Pentagon doesn’t want.
TPA President David Williams spoke about the CRomnibus Bill today:
“The 2015 CRomnibus spending bill will turn any taxpayer into a Grinch as it is a major blow to transparent government and fiscal responsibility. The bill was released on Tuesday December 9, with the House expected to vote on the bill less than 3 days after its introduction. Using a 1,600-page bill to fund pet programs is reckless and irresponsible behavior that should not be tolerated with a country $18 trillion in debt. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Congress has lower approval ratings than cockroaches, Genghis Kahn, and Nickelback. TPA will continue to urge responsible spending reduction and commonsense reforms which are necessary in order to get our nation’s balance sheet under control.”