Even as Senate Republicans trumpet the virtues of the massive $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package they are ramming through, at least one House GOP member is taking the time to read it.
And what Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) found is nothing short of bizarre.
Near the top of the list is the appropriation of $750,000 to a Los Angeles-based Latina organization with aspirations to “dismantle” the criminal justice system.
The TransLatin@ Coalition hardly stops there. The group wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and ensure that “transgender history and discourse” is promoted in the nation’s elementary schools.
I brought along the 1.7 trillion, 4,000+ page Pelosi-Schumer omnibus spending bill that's being fast-tracked through the Senate. This process stinks. It's an abomination. It's a no good rotten way to run government. We're standing up and saying NO. pic.twitter.com/Wom6xKEeQh
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) December 20, 2022
The spending bill addresses immigration in other ways. For example, it explicitly bars Customs and Border Protection funding from being used to improve border security.
But that’s only U.S. immigration woes. For Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Oman, the omnibus package earmarks $410 million — for their border security.
Paying dues for membership in international organizations has apparently gotten more expensive. The budget allocates $1,438,000,000 for the privilege of belonging to the United Nations and other groups.
Rep. Bishop located the word “salmon” in the federal spending bill a whopping 48 times. Along with the mentions came money, of course, to the tune of $65 million for projects related to salmon. Topping that figure was $65.7 million for international fish hatchery commissions.
There’s $3 million set aside for bee-friendly highways.
In yet another questionable funding decision, the sprawling omnibus package pledges $575 million for “family planning” in world regions where the human population “threatens biodiversity.” Global family planning made it into Washington’s list of priorities.
Projects honoring liberal political figures were not shortchanged in the spending bill. Two programs for Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) and a federal building named after Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are included.
And there’s even an earmark for the “Michelle Obama Trail” for $3.6 million.
Several House Republicans have rightly stepped up against this wasteful spending package. It is shameful that Democrats and a few GOP allies are attempting to ram it through with very little review just in time for Christmas. It is merely a gift-wrapped giveaway to themselves.
