There is still time for Republicans to pass appropriations bills that rein in Democrat spending
The next fight over government funding is upon us, and it’s time for some straight talk. To the detriment of all Americans, the executive branch under President Joe Biden is a largely unchecked monstrosity that’s growing exponentially in size and strength each and every day and must be reined in.
Thankfully, the cure for what ails us — in this case a liberty-usurping big government — has been the same since the inception of our constitutional republic. The Biden administration can’t wreak more havoc — and Bidenomics-causing malaise can’t become the new normal without tax dollars — and Congress holds the power of the purse.
If there was ever a time for the legislative branch to finally step up and flex power, it’s right now.
Quite predictably, the uni-party in Washington has refused to do the right thing by returning to pre-COVID-19 spending levels. Relinquishing power and shrinking government has proven to be a near impossible task throughout most of our nation’s history.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters just after the Republican majority in the House narrowly passed a sweeping debt ceiling package as they try to push President Joe Biden into negotiations on federal spending, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
That’s why President Ronald Reagan was absolutely right when he said, "no government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size." Today’s leaders should consider Reagan’s wisdom before it’s too late. The American people are sick and tired of the broken status quo of mindless spending and bad decisions; a different approach is in order.
Making matters even more untenable is the fact that all this out-of-control spending has given hardworking American taxpayers little to nothing in return, to put it mildly. Sadly, the federal government has never been more broken than it is today.
Let’s remember that the founding fathers envisioned a limited government doing a few things well, not a vast unelected bureaucracy doing a lot of things poorly. It’s hard to find a government program today that isn’t either grossly mismanaged, going broke or both.
In 2022, Republicans won back control of the House of Representatives in part because they pledged to govern differently — a way of saying they would end the dysfunction and abuse that became synonymous with Nancy Pelosi’s tenure atop the House majority.
Promises of reform, fiscal responsibility, regular order, transparency, accountability and passing appropriations bills on time were made. Some of those promises have been kept, others have not. The next moves made by Speaker Kevin McCarthy along with his leadership team and committee chairs will be long remembered.
There’s still time for Congress to pass a number of appropriations bills before the September 30 deadline. They must take the bull by the horns and decide whether taking a long summer recess was the right thing to do under these circumstances.
To fix this, the House Republican conference should work late nights and weekends in order to finish the spending bills on time. Legislating from crisis to crisis and kicking the can down the road with yet another round of continuing resolutions is not the answer. America put men on the moon six times in three years; surely, we can pass 12 spending bills in 30 days.
It's worth noting that there’s one big difference in this year’s government funding debate. The disgraceful multi-trillion dollar, 4,000-page omnibus caper that Pelosi’s Congress pulled on their way out the door in December 2022 is still very fresh in people’s minds.
When Republicans took over the House of Reprentatives, they promised to reform the budget process and make it better than when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ran things. (Fox News )
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Quite frankly, the American people would be better served by a constructive government shutdown than another grand larceny spending bill that no one reads or meaningfully debates before disappearing for the holidays.
Let’s recall that in exchange for not shutting the government down, Washington politicians have rewarded us with a woke Pentagon, an open border, a fentanyl crisis, critical race theory, illegal student loan forgiveness programs, weaponized law enforcement agencies and a prolonged cycle of killer inflation.
Since Biden signed the so-called Fiscal Responsibility Act into law in June — just 90 days ago — the national debt has already increased by $1 trillion to a staggering $32.8 trillion. And since this time last year, the federal budget deficit has increased by $882 billion.
The title of this bill is almost as misleading as the Inflation Reduction Act. In short, during the reign of Biden the Terrible, Washington is up to its old tricks — and the American people aren’t laughing.
Once again, career Washington politicians are telling us to fund their socialist utopia or else. It’s time to call their bluff and stand tall for fiscal sanity, conservative principles, and liberty.
