Dakota Beacon

At the end of October 2015, and under duress from fellow Republicans, John Boehner resigned as Speaker of the House of Representatives. He did not have the support of the Republican-controlled House. Through the turmoil, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan replaced him. The Republican voters had high hopes of correcting years of wanton spending and out-of-control debt by the Obama administration.

In order to set the scene for the passage of the 2016, 2009-page, $1.1 trillion Consolidated Omnibus spending bill as one of Speaker Ryan’s first acts a very brief refresher is in order. First, all federal budgeting is divided into mandatory and discretionary spending. Mandatory spending is dictated by existing law and includes entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare. These two programs alone comprise 40% of the total federal budget. Discretionary spending, on the other hand, is decided by Congress annually through the appropriations process. This includes Defense spending (16% of the total budget) and Education spending (11% of the total budget).

Second, the federal budget is subject to sequestration. This refers to automatic spending cuts established by law beginning in January 2013 and continuing at the same rate for the next decade. So far, so good. But, how was sequestration actually applied?

Third, under sequestration the fiscal reduction comes almost exclusively from discretionary spending. Fifty percent of the reduction comes entirely from Defense programs. The other 50% comes from all other federal agencies funded by discretionary spending. Meanwhile, by special provision, Medicare was reduced by a meager 2% and Social Security and Medicaid were exempt. By this formula, all US military forces will be reduced to pre-World War II strength.

By supporting the sequestration formula as well as voting for the 2016 Consolidated Omnibus spending bill, Senators John Hoveven and Heidi Heitkamp as well as Congressman Kevin Cramer are complicit in betraying the voters.

That said, the Republican Congress approved the Consolidated Omnibus spending bill given one full day to read and study it. President Obama signed it a week before Christmas. The bill fully funds the Obama administration priorities and increases the national debt by another $30 billion.

  --Omnibus continues full funding for the resettlement of Syrian refugees without additional screening.

  --Omnibus fails to block the EPA’s Clean Power Plan rule, but it provides ample money for Obama to reallocate to the United Nation’s Green Climate Fund.

  --Omnibus fails to stop Obama’s executive amnesty which two federal courts have declared as illegal.

  --Omnibus expands legal immigration at the expense of American workers. (The Walt Disney Company and Southern California Edison fired 250 and 400 employees respectively and both companies required their laid-off workers to train their replacements brought in from India.)

  --Omnibus continues full funding for all Planned Parenthood activities.

  --Omnibus continues high levels of funding for Legal Services Corporation which sues states on behalf of illegal aliens.

  --Omnibus continues funding for Head Start which the federal government’s own studies have proven provides no lasting value to the children.

  --Omnibus did nothing to curtail Obamacare.

  --Omnibus increases the annual budget for the Internal Revenue Service which now serves to enforce Obamacare regulations and has a documented record of abusive misconduct toward entities the Obama administration deems obstructive.

Republicans galore are boiling mad at the betrayal by the Republican Congress of their trust and confidence. Passing the Consolidated Omnibus spending bill puts icing on the cake.

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) put it rather nicely. “There is a reason that GOP voters are in open rebellion. They have come to believe that their party’s elites are…openly hostile to them.”

There is an appropriate term for voters who elected a Republican majority to the US House and Senate in 2010 and 2014 expecting congressmen and senators to straighten out the mess in Washington.

Those voters were swindled.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).