If you’re like me, you probably find it hard not to expect the worst when it comes to Congress spending taxpayer money.
Wednesday night, the Republican-controlled House passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 (H.R.3547), better known as the omnibus appropriations bill. (Update: The Senate passed the measure Thursday evening.)
And the numbers aren’t pretty. The 1,582 page bill clocks in at $1.012 trillion, increasing base discretionary spending by $24 billion in fiscal year 2014. That doesn’t even include oversees contingency operations (OCO) funding or other “emergency” spending. When you include that, too, the total comes closer to $1.111 trillion.
To say the act is disappointing is an understatement. It contains only slight differences from last month’s Ryan-Murray plan, and in most cases for the worst, as some minor pension reforms present in Ryan-Murray are now absent from this bill.
The final appropriations bill sets in place $45 billion of more spending than what was supposed to be spent in 2014 under the caps set by the Budget Control Act. Of course, Ryan-Murray had already gutted those, along with sequestration.
Consider just a few more facts:
- Most departments will see substantial increases in their budgets, including 24 percent for the Department of Interior and EPA; 29 percent for Labor, Health, and Education, and 29 percent for Financial Services.
- The repeal of flood insurance subsidies that were supposed to take place in return for reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is now being postponed by a year.
- According to analysis by BusinessWeek, the Pentagon will receive funding for all 29 of its F-35 joint-strike fighters, the Department of Defense’s most-expensive weapons program that is already over budget by 68 percent and counting. The bill also allows the Pentagon to begin buying hardware for another 39 fighters.
In Washington, members of both parties have claimed the omnibus is a victory — that Congress is finally working its way towards normal budget procedure. But Coalition to Reduce Spending member and Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) perhaps said it best yesterday on his Facebook page when he said:
While all political bodies aim to reduce spending in the long run, the only year you control is the one you have. In that regard this bill was found wanting on several fronts. It carries out the $45 billion in extra spending called for in the Ryan-Murray budget deal … And in regard to spending process, it gets rid of the only financial discipline Congress has been able to pass, which begs the question — if Congress isn’t willing to make cuts now, when will we be willing?
That’s a good question indeed.
