Steve Scalise slams omnibus spending bill and Democrats for trying to vote ‘in the dark of night’
Cami Mondeaux
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House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) is lashing out against Democrats’ omnibus spending bill just days before Congress is set to vote on the legislation in order to avert a government shutdown, arguing several of the provisions are unnecessary.
The $1.7 trillion spending bill includes a number of provisions to keep the government funded through the next fiscal year, as well as a handful of earmark measures that lawmakers have sought to include for passage, things such as additional military aid to Ukraine, renaming federal buildings after top lawmakers, and more. Several House Republicans have pushed against the proposals, vowing to vote against the legislation.
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“[The bill is] hundreds of billions of dollars [but] nobody can tell you what’s in it,” Scalise told Fox News. “It was just filed, and they’re going to vote on it in dark of night. It would be ironic but appropriate that they would try to vote on it at 3 in the morning.”
Several other Republicans have echoed Scalise’s sentiments, particularly pointing out measures that would provide additional aid to foreign countries — lamenting that the annual budget wasn’t focusing enough on domestic affairs.
“It expressly prohibits Customs and Border Protection funding from being used to improve border security,” Rep. Dan Bishop said in a tweet. “But at the same time, allocates $410 million towards border security for Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman. America Last in action.”
Among the 4,155-page spending bill is a number of measures that would designate certain buildings or programs to be named after top lawmakers, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who is stepping down from her leadership role next month. As part of the spending bill, the legislation would name the San Francisco federal building at 90 7th St. after the California Democrat. Pelosi is among those who have urged the passing of the government funding bill.
A handful of Republicans rejected the spending bill, decrying it as a move by Democrats to increase spending amid record-high inflation. They also fired off against an earmark provision in the spending bill that would allocate roughly $3.6 million to go toward the Michelle Obama Trail located in Georgia.
“The Democrats’ reckless omnibus bill spends YOUR money on a ‘Michelle Obama Trail,’ a ‘Ukraine Independence Park’ in DC, and a ‘Speaker Pelosi Federal Building’ in San Francisco. Are you ok with all of this?” said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) in a tweet.
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Other Republicans chimed in, vowing to “strip every earmark out of this bill.”
Lawmakers have until midnight on Friday to pass a funding bill in order to avoid a government shutdown.