Dec. 21, 2022
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
BAD DEAL: Congressional Omnibus Has ZERO Border Security Improvement Funding
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXjPawsx_l8
Congress should reject omnibus that would defund border security technology and wait for GOP House
Dec. 20, 2022, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to U.S. Representative Dan Bishop (R-NC) tweet today that the omnibus spending bill which would fund federal government appropriations through September 30, 2023, “expressly prohibits CBP funding from being used to improve border security”:
“Any member of the U.S. House or Senate who votes for funding legislation which mandates to the Border Patrol that ‘none of the funds provided in subsection (a)(1) shall be used to acquire, maintain, or extend border security technology and capabilities, except for technology and capabilities to improve Border Patrol processing’ should be removed from office for dereliction of duty. One of the few Constitutional jobs of the federal government is to secure our nation’s borders, and this current administration has made a mockery of that duty. It is Congress’ job to demand through the funding bills that the law be upheld, and this provision is an outright surrender of our borders for another ten months.
“More than five million people have come across our border illegally since Joe Biden became president. This is not a coincidence or a failure of policy, it is the plan. Voting for the omnibus is a clear rubber stamp to this policy. To those who claim that the alternative is shutting down the government, the obvious answer is that there is no harm in waiting until next year so that the new House Republican majority has an opportunity to review this provision. Besides, on the border, our government is already virtually shut down as our border patrol officers have been turned into little more than turnstile operators unable to protect our country from foreign invaders due to policies set by the Biden administration and rubber stamped by both political parties in D.C.
“Republicans and honest Democrats must reject the proposed Omnibus and pass a three month Continuing Resolution in its stead.”
To view online: https://getliberty.org/2022/12/congress-should-reject-omnibus-that-would-defund-border-security-technology-and-wait-for-gop-house/
Ryan King: ‘Dead on arrival’: McCarthy threatens to tank McConnell’s agenda if Senate GOP votes for omnibus
By Ryan King
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is threatening to tank the legislation of Senate Republicans who back the omnibus spending bill being considered this week, setting up a showdown with his counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Bills from Republican senators, including McConnell himself, will be "dead on arrival" in the House under his speakership, McCarthy warned, throwing his weight behind a letter signed by 13 Republicans in the House vowing to whip against legislation from lawmakers who cast a "yes" vote later this week on the spending bill.
"Agreed. Except no need to whip — when I’m Speaker, their bills will be dead on arrival in the House if this nearly $2T monstrosity is allowed to move forward over our objections and the will of the American people," McCarthy tweeted in response to the letter.
McCarthy's warning shot comes as House Republicans have pressured the aspiring speaker to take a harder line against McConnell, who has advanced a longer-term spending deal with the Democrats. McCarthy has publicly insisted that the Senate should pass a short-term funding bill instead that allows the bill to be negotiated once Republicans retake the House on Jan. 3.
McCarthy has publicly pressed McConnell to change course on the omnibus, but a conservative flank in the House wants McCarthy to go further and "declare war" on McConnell-backed bills if he votes for the $1.7 trillion spending bill. McCarthy is currently seeking to court a handful of defections within his conference that threaten to derail his speakership bid, given the narrow 222-seat majority House Republicans will have in January.
The group of 13 congressmen is demanding the Senate "refrain from entertaining any spending bill that extends beyond the first few months" of the new year so that the GOP can negotiate a budget when it has control of the lower chamber.
"We are obliged to inform you that if any omnibus passes in the remaining days of this Congress, we will oppose and whip opposition to any legislative priority of those senators who vote for this bill — including the Republican leader," the Monday letter sent to GOP senators said.
"Senate Republicans have the 41 votes necessary to stop this and should do so now and show the Americans who elected you that they weren't wrong in doing so," the letter continued. "This slated omnibus spending bill is an indefensible assault on the American people. It is an assault on the separation of powers. It is an assault on fiscal responsibility. It is an assault on basic civic decency."
The letter was signed by Reps. and Reps.-elect Chip Roy (R-TX), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Bob Good (R-VA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Scott Perry (R-PA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), and Andy Ogles (R-TN).
Congress has until midnight Friday to fund a spending bill, either the omnibus or a stop-gap measure, that would avert a government shutdown.
To view online: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/gop-congressmen-threaten-scuttle-legislation-senators-back-omnibus