Omnibus Spending Bill: ...Represents Business-as-Usual

by Brian M. Riedl

WebMemo #2318

View a list of pork projects in the FY 2009 omnibus. Even a recession and record $1.4 trillion budget deficit has not altered Congress's business-as-usual culture of spending and pork. While families and entrepreneurs are responsibly bringing their own budgets under control, Congress is spending and earmarking as if nothing has changed in the economy. The House has already passed—and the Senate will soon take up—a mammoth FY 2009 omnibus appropriation bill[1] that: Provides an 8 percent discretionary spending hike for the second consecutive year; Combines with the "stimulus" bill for a staggering 80 percent increase in these discretionary programs; May contribute to a permanent $2,000 per-household tax hike; Contains 9,287 pork projects at a cost of nearly $13 billion; and Likely terminates the Washington, D.C., school voucher program, removing 1,715 low-income students from their current schools. Read more...