One of the things the CR-OMNIBUS did was deprive the new Congress in January from having any financial impact on these issues. Instead of passing a continuing resolution that would have funded the government until the new Congress is seated in January when the Senate will be in Republican hands, Boehner, McConnell, et al removed the advantage of the election that shifted the balance of power to the conservative position. Note the sections of the letter I've highlighted. The fact is that the Republican leadership betrayed grassroots voters. No surprise! It is a well-known pattern -- which is why every Republican who voted for this should face a primary opponent in their next election. This country is in deep trouble and the guarantees in the bill for financial institutions that shift their risk to the American taxpayers. I think the bill would be more accurately labeled the "CRime-nibus bill. Read more here.
Dear [Constituent], Thank you for contacting me regarding funding the federal government with the so-called "cromnibus." I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
As you may know, I voted to oppose this legislation, H.R. 83, which passed the House on December 11, 2014 by a vote of 219 to 206. Current funding for the federal government was scheduled to run out on December 11, 2014. The House considered a combination continuing resolution and partial omnibus, referred to as a "cromnibus," H.R. 83, which would fully fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends on September 30, 2015, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS is responsible for immigration enforcement, and will only be funded until February 27, 2015. This was done to give the incoming House and Senate an opportunity to address funding for the President's executive actions on immigration.
There has been much debate within the House of Representatives over how best to continue funding the government. While many wanted to pass a bill funding the government through the current Fiscal Year, which ends on September 30, 2015, I have serious concerns that this path will deny the new Congress important opportunities to make meaningful reforms to government spending. Among other things, I wanted a chance to consider denying funding for the President's executive actions on immigration, significantly reducing the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency, cutting spending for Obamacare, and reforming spending in numerous other areas.
Further, the process in bringing this bill forward in the House was flawed in a number of ways. One flaw was that this more than 1,600 page bill was released at approximately 8:15pm on Tuesday with a vote expected Thursday afternoon. For me, this is too short of a time frame in which to read, investigate, and maturely consider this lengthy spending legislation. I do not feel I was able to complete the work I normally do before making a decision on a significant piece of legislation. I wish leadership had given us more time to fully understand a bill of this complexity and enormity. For the reasons enumerated above and others, I opposed this bill.
I strongly believe that in November, the American people voted for change. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate during the 114th Congress to make significant headway against our nation's unsustainable debt and our President's unconstitutional overreach.
For more information on what is happening in Congress, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov. If I may be of further assistance to you on this, or any other issue, please feel free to contact me in my Washington, DC office at (202) 225-3861. I remain
Sincerely yours,
H. MORGAN GRIFFITH
Member of Congress
No comments:
Post a Comment