FY 2009 Omnibus – Overdue, Over-budget, Undercover

FY 2009 Omnibus – Overdue, Over-budget, Undercover

One of the basic duties of Congress is to pass annual spending bills to fund the federal government. As part of this process, Congress is responsible for making tough budget decisions and providing critical oversight of government spending, while representing the interests of the taxpayers who foot the bill.

The FY 2009 Omnibus is the essence of the Democrat Majority’s failure to fulfill these basic responsibilities. 

Budget-Busting and Back-Door Dealing

The FY 2009 Omnibus contains a total of $410 billion in spending - a whopping $32 billion, or 8% increase over 2008 spending levels.  On the heels of a trillion dollar stimulus bill, this huge increase will have a devastating impact on our federal debt and sets a dangerous precedent for future federal budgets.

To make matters worse, this massive spending bill was created undercover and out of view of the American public. Only three of the bills contained in the Omnibus were cleared by the full House Appropriations Committee in a public mark-up, and none were considered on the House floor. The rest have been crafted and negotiated by staff under the direction of the Democrat leadership without the involvement of the vast majority of Members of Congress or the public.  In addition, there will likely be no committee mark-up of this bill, which will probably be subjected to a closed  rule on the House floor that will prevent most (if not all) potential amendments.

This  back-door dealing has resulted in an Omnibus package that represents the interests of a handful of Democrat leaders and staff.  Everyone else – including Democrat and Republican Members of Congress and American taxpayers – has been left out.

Setting a Poor Example – Appropriations Bills are Months Overdue

Congress is supposed to pass each individual spending bill before the end of the fiscal year. There was ample opportunity for the nine bills contained in the FY 2009 Omnibus to have been debated and passed before October 1, 2008. But instead, the Democrat majority punted the legislation to this Congress, in the hopes that the new President would look more favorably on their budget-busting ambitions. 

The Democrat Majority blamed this inaction on President Bush and his intent to veto Appropriations bills that surpassed the budget request. However, history shows that veto threats have not affected House action on bills in the past, and the Democrat Majority never allowed the chance for any Appropriations conference reports to be sent to the President to exercise a veto… or not.  

Families and businesses across the nation know that paying bills on time is the responsible thing to do… it produces a more secure financial future, and it likely saves money down the road. Unfortunately, the Democrat Majority has ignored this logic and waited to pass spending bills that are now five months overdue. Now, to rectify this inaction, they are attempting to jam yet another massive spending bill through Congress without proper debate or public scrutiny.