At Eleventh Hour, Congress Agrees to Spend More Money
One day before the deadline to fund the government passes, congressional leaders introduced a 1,603-page spending bill that will allocate $1.01 trillion. Because the House expects Congress to break the Dec. 11 deadline, it plans to pass a temporary measure to keep the government funded so they can read what’s in the bill dicker over what’s in the bill. In a joint statement, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) said, “While not everyone got everything they wanted, such compromises must be made in a divided government.” The bill seeks to tweak some of the Obama administration’s policies because Congress holds the power of the purse. Most famously, the bill will fund the Department of Homeland Security only until Feb. 27 so the 114th Congress can better attack Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration. The bill also cuts $60 million from the EPA’s budget, and $345.6 million from the IRS – as Republicans seek to reform the organization after it targeted non-profit groups over political beliefs. The bottom line, though, is this is the same as it ever was – spending, spending and more spending. More…