Omnibus Brings Conservative Victories
As we remember from the fall, the painful government shutdown was finally brought to an end when lawmakers voted for a short-term funding agreement that also called for a bipartisan joint budget conference. I served on this conference, led by House Chairman Paul Ryan and Senate Chairman Patty Murray, charged with the task of negotiating a budget agreement by December 13.
When Chairmen Ryan and Murray announced a deal ahead of the deadline, there was a renewed sense of hope for America’s economic future. Since 2009, the federal government has depended on short-term funding agreements, rather than passing a long-term budget plan. But the Bipartisan Budget Act, which passed both chambers with strong bipartisan support and was signed into law by the president, set funding levels for the next two fiscal years. After passage, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees then used the terms laid out in the deal as a guide for crafting 12 appropriations bills to fund the federal government and avert another shutdown.
Last week, House Chairman Hal Rogers and Senate Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski announced the completion of a bipartisan omnibus, comprised of the 12 appropriations bills. Following the $1.012 trillion funding level set for fiscal year 2014, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 fully funds the government through September.
Since Republicans took control of the House, we have cut spending four years in a row; that’s the first time this has happened since the Korean War. While there is still room for deeper cuts, the level of spending in the omnibus is actually $164 billion lower than fiscal year 2008 or the last year of the Bush presidency. Regardless of the size of the spending cuts, it is impossible to balance the federal budget on the back of appropriated spending. During the most recent year in which spending data is available, appropriated spending accounted for less than one quarter of all government spending.
Again, while spending levels were agreed upon for both fiscal years 2014 and 2015, these specified caps do not include funding for the Global War on Terrorism or for Disaster and Emergency spending. While some members have used this exclusion to claim that the omnibus spending measure violates the terms of the budget deal, spending cuts still amount to nearly $165 billion over the last four years when those programs are included. Besides this noticeable decline in spending, the omnibus brings numerous victories for conservatives and accountability requirements for the president and other government programs.
First, the omnibus maintains several pro-life provisions, prohibits the use of federal and foreign aid for most abortions, and provides no new funding for Obamacare. In fact, the legislation removes $1 billion from the Prevention and Public Health Fund, preventing the Administration from using that money to pay for Obamacare. Furthermore, the bill cuts $10 million from the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a so-called panel of healthcare advisors actually comprised of government officials.
Last year, we learned of the scandal surrounding the IRS, due to illegal targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. To prevent similar situations, I am pleased that the spending bill seeks to restore accountability—particularly by prohibiting the use of funds "to target groups for regulatory scrutiny based on their ideological beliefs or to target citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights.”
Without the thousands of brave men and women who volunteered to defend the United States, our sense of safety and security would be very different. But even in our seemingly safe nation, the threat of attack is real. The omnibus continues to fund our military, whether serving at home or abroad, and provides a 1 percent pay increase for personnel. It also reverses cuts to the cost-of-living adjustment for disabled working-age veterans. While this provision does not restore COLA for all veterans yet, I remain optimistic that lawmakers will work together to restore these unfortunate cuts before they are schedule to go into effect in 2016.
The legislation restricts the Justice and Homeland Security departments from establishing programs similar to the “Operation Fast and Furious” gun-walking program. Additionally, it bans foreign aid to Libya, which eases some of the pain still surrounding the horrific terrorist attack on our consulate in Benghazi.
Like many of my colleagues, I agree that this spending bill isn’t perfect, but I also realize that it begins to break the dangerous habit of living crisis to crisis. While there is certainly more work to be done, this legislation strikes an appropriate balance between Republican and Democratic priorities and finally operates according to a longer timeframe. The omnibus sets real priorities, controls spending and reasserts congressional authority over the appropriations process far more effectively than another continuing resolution ever could.