This time it is another bipartisan failure by so-called Congressional servants of the people. Why? In the last days of December, Congress passed a $1.4 trillion spending bill with an irresponsible 90 minutes of debate and discussion. This 90 minutes had to cover a bill that contained 2,313 pages of small print with the message from Congressional leaders, "read this in 24 hour if you can". The timing of this flagrant abuse of Congressional responsibility was carefully arranged to avoid any opposition or even informed dissent. The spending bill was introduced on the floor of Congress one day before government funding would expire. The chokehold on Congress was to pass this bill or be responsible for closing down the government.
And this spending fiasco was a prime example of legislative garbage. Consider the lobbyist-influenced giveaways contained in it. The amount of $375 billion in taxes was repealed so that you, the American taxpayer, not medical or insurance interests, will be paying for Obamacare. Translation: it's now more money out of your pocket. A relative small, but illustrative government fiscal abuse: 47 different employment and training programs were left intact. These 47 job programs are one example of government duplication and waste that live forever. On a much larger scale, $738 billion was allocated for the defense budget, a $22 billion increase over last year. Included in this grotesque overspending was money for more F-35 fighter planes than the Pentagon asked for and nine more submarines to serve in the landlocked Middle East endless wars.
Perhaps the most serious dereliction of Congressional responsibility was a bill of major help for taxpayers that was dropped from the legislation. The horrendous financial burden of surprise medical billing remains the financial nightmare of thousands of American families. Getting a bill from doctors for thousands of dollars who were "out-of-network" forces many Americans into bankruptcy. The bill to prevent this and restore many American families to fiscal sanity was studied by Congress for two years and supported by both houses of Congress. Even with bipartisan support, the bill that would have helped so many Americans was pulled from legislation and not even given a hearing. The reason for this legislative chicanery that defies logic is that the bill "only" saved $17 billion. Whose victory was this, yours the taxpayer or Washington lobbyists?
Now comes a test. When you meet one of your elected members of Congress, will you sink into the verbal fluff they are so adept at spinning or will you hold them accountable for passing a deficit-inducing expense bill costing $1.4 trillion? Will you avoid the glad hand and ask him/her why such a hugely expensive bill only got 90 minutes of debate? It is far more than a fair question since it strikes to the very heart of responsible, representative government.
America, ask the question!