$1.3 Trillion Dollar Omnibus Spending Bill Almost 1,000 Pages Longer than Gutenberg Bible
Johannes Gutenberg, c.1453 to 1455
The House passed a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill on Thursday, sending it on its way for a vote in the Senate ahead of a midnight Friday deadline to avoid a government shutdown.
But whether House members read the bill or if members of the Senate will be able to read it before a vote seems unlikely, if not impossible. The 2,232-page Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 is 944 pages longer than the Gutenberg Bible.
Breitbart News reported:
The House passed the omnibus 255-167, featuring bipartisan support despite conservative opposition to the legislation. The House voted to advance the legislation to a floor vote on Thursday morning 211-207. Republican leadership released the omnibus bill on Wednesday night giving legislators less than 17 hours to read the bill.
The House Freedom Caucus urged President Donald Trump to reject the bill in a letter posted on Twitter Wednesday.
Members of the @freedomcaucus sent the below letter to the WH:
“Mr. President, we urge you to remember the countless forgotten men and women of America who placed their faith in you to change business as usual in Washington, D.C. We urge you to join us and reject this omnibus.” pic.twitter.com/eO0B1PfCYl
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) March 22, 2018
“Mr. President, we urge you to remember the countless forgotten men and women of America who placed their faith in you to change business as usual in Washington, D.C. We urge you to join us and reject this omnibus,” the letter said.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) also tweeted about the length of the bill and the lack of time to read it, not to mention the high cost of the legislation.
2,232 pages. $1.3 trillion. 48 hours.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) March 22, 2018
Despite opposition from conservatives, the White House is backing it after Trump met with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement:
The president and the leaders discussed their support for the bill, which includes more funds to rebuild the military, such as the largest pay raise for our troops in a decade, more than 100 miles of new construction for the border wall and other key domestic priorities, like combatting the opioid crisis and rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure.
As Breitbart News reported, the omnibus spending bill contains language that bars funding for a southern border wall.
The omnibus also contains provisions that expand the H-2B visa-worker program, which would reduce market pressure on companies to offer American workers higher wages.
Republican leadership also included provisions that will allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct gun research.
The omnibus also includes the Fix NICS Act, which would allow unelected bureaucrats to remove Americans’ right to purchase firearms without due process.
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