The money that your federal government spends is divided into two categories: mandatory spending, where Congress unacceptably put it on autopilot, and discretionary spending, which has to be directed each year. For now, let’s set aside the runaway mandatory part and talk about the money that makes up Congress’ traditional role in the power of the purse. Discretionary spending, this category that Congress originally oversaw, is made up of 12 annual bills known as appropriations. And to make this explanation even more complicated, this week, the House is voting on a so-called “minibus,” the combination of six of the traditional 12 appropriation bills for the next fiscal year.
Americans are suffering, yet this bill reflects that Democrat priorities have remained the same. Record-high inflation is costing the average American household nearly $6,000 more per year, small business confidence has dropped to the lowest level it has been in over nine years, and the Democrats introduced a bill full of policy priorities to dramatically increase topline spending by 14 percent. The priorities in this bill exemplify just how out of touch the Democrats remain with the current struggles that face Americans across the nation. This out-of-control spending bill will only make matters worse.
Despite historical federal debt and skyrocketing inflation, Democrats prioritized double-digit and triple-digit increases to expand the Washington bureaucracy. These provisions include a 20 percent increase of the Environmental Protection Agency, a one billion dollar increase in the Internal Revenue Service, a 17 percent increase for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and a 12 percent increase for federal buildings—many of which have been mostly empty for the last two years.
