Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the omnibus spending bill
for the 2009 fiscal year and our congressman Buck McKeon expressed concern over
what he dubbed "Democrats' continued federal spending spree." The bill calls
for $410 billion in spending. 

[view:node_ad=5]Here's what McKeon said about the bill:

 

"While the California
is struggling with its own budget and the country is in the midst of economic
turmoil, House Democrats are bloating the federal budget by $30 billion. 
The Democrat's omnibus spending bill is not the example of fiscal restraint
that we need right now; what we do need in Washington is a spending freeze,
maintaining 2008 spending levels without the 8% budget increase.  These
are serious times that require all of us to buckle down and rein in on
frivolous spending."

 

 

---

With McKeon's  support, House Republican Leadership sent the
following letter to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer earlier this week:

 

Dear Speaker Pelosi & Leader Hoyer,

 

Our country is in recession.  Americans are struggling
in today's economy.  They're tired of business-as-usual in Washington
spending, and they're furious about Washington
wasting their money at a time when every penny in the family budget
counts.  American families and small businesses are being forced to make
sacrifices, and their government – which is funded with taxpayers' hard-earned
money – should be making sacrifices, too.

 

To his great credit, President Obama has recognized this in
his public
statements, declaring he is "committed to fiscal transparency and
accountability and ensuring that [all] spending commitments are paid for
without burdening our children and grandchildren with excessive debt."  He
has made clear that "spending that cannot withstand public scrutiny cannot be
justified."  He has pledged to "slash earmarks to no greater than 1994
levels and ensure all spending decisions are open to the public."

 

Republicans agree with the President on these commitments,
and we assume Democratic congressional leaders do too.  It is in this
spirit that we urge you to scrap the so-called "omnibus" spending bill being
rushed to a vote this week and instead bring a "continuing resolution" to the
floor that freezes federal spending at current levels and includes no earmarks,
Democratic or Republican.

 

Like the trillion-dollar "stimulus" spending bill that was
rushed through Congress without any Member having read it, the $410 billion
legislation scheduled to reach the House floor this week openly defies the
President's commendable objectives of fiscal transparency and
accountability.  It was written in near-secrecy, and withheld from public view for many weeks in an effort to
minimize public scrutiny of its details.  And with the exception of the
temporary increase that was set in motion following the 9/11 attacks on our
nation, the bill contains the largest single increase in federal discretionary
spending since the Carter Administration in 1978.

 

Most Americans would agree this is not fiscal transparency
or fiscal accountability.  Rather, it is business-as-usual in Washington
spending: fiscal negligence.  And it comes at the worst possible moment
for financially-strapped American families who are struggling to make ends meet
and are incensed at Washington's
penchant for waste and fiscal excess.

 

This is a time of great challenge for our nation. 
Republicans want to work with you and our President to bring spending-as-usual
to a halt in Washington and
impose a new standard of bipartisan fiscal discipline that reflects the
sacrifices being made by families and small businesses across America. 
We ask you to start this process by scrapping the "omnibus" spending bill and
joining Republicans in support of a bipartisan spending freeze.

 

For past statements by McKeon on fiscal responsibility and
the economy, please visit www.mckeon.house.gov.