Remember the saying “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”? As we sat back and watched Mitch McConnel pull money from Arizona leaving the astronaut floating in the halls of Congress for the next six years, we got fooled. Now here we are with a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill with a 10% increase in defense spending and a 6% increase in discretionary spending—much of which will continue to fund the invasion on the southern border by providing immigrant transportation costs, cell phones, spending money, vocational education, and funding the NGOs that have realized their new revenue streams—shame on me.
The Winners
The big appropriation winners are Defense and Health and Human Services. With billions of dollars in increased funding, the key is to follow the money. The Department of Defense got more money than they asked for, and trust me, they asked for more money than they needed! As the defense contractors around the beltway continue to grow green with funding, it gives new meaning to the new green deal! Within HHS, the Administration of Children and Families and the Office of Refugee Resettlement have steadily increased since FY 2011 when Congress first realized the incoming surge on our southern border.
As I stated in a 2014 Breitbart article, “according to federal data, about $168 million was spent on benefits for unaccompanied alien children (UACs) in fiscal year (FY) 2012. Each subsequent year, that figure increased substantially. $376 million was spent in FY 2013 and then almost double that amount, $868 million, was spent in FY 2014.” In the FY 2023 budget that was passed, the funding requested by HHS/ACF/UC is $6,715,080,750. Let that sink in. Six billion, seven hundred and fifteen million, eighty thousand and seven hundred and fifty dollars—a 674% increase. Here I can say, I warned you.
The Electoral Count
The Electoral Count Act clarifies the vice president cannot overturn election results when Congress counts Electoral College votes and raises the number of members necessary to raise objections to a state’s electors. Eighteen GOP senators voted with Democrats to pass the bill as part of the larger funding package. Even Senator Rand Paul endorsed the bill in an op-ed in fear that calls to abolish the Electoral College might succeed. “In 2021, the theater act went too far and culminated in a mob disrupting the joint session of Congress to certify the presidential election,” wrote Senator Paul. No longer can the one representative you send to Washington voice his objection—he needs a team.
In what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said is “one of the most significant appropriations packages we’ve done in a really long time”, the 2023 Republicans in the House of Representatives have been calf roped when there was still time on the clock, and they didn’t even try to get up.
Calf-Roped and Tied with Pigging String
This is not how I want to start 2023, but once again in 2022, the Republicans have been played. As we send two new Representatives from Arizona to Washington, we hope you can help the Republicans get back on their feet. Stay standing, don’t go down ‘cause it looks like the Democrats are pretty good with the six-foot pigging string.
Happy New Year
Join me. Support our 2023 Arizona Republican Congressional Caucus.