Key Vote NO on the Additional Supplement Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote NO on the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, introduced by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.). The bill spends $36.5 billion for areas affected by recent disasters and food stamp funding for Puerto Rico without corresponding offsets.

No one disagrees with the need for assistance for areas recently impacted by disasters. Nevertheless, the concern with the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act is that Congress is spending money without any spending offsets. In fact, the manner by which the bill will be brought to the House floor for consideration prohibits amendments that could offset the $36.5 billion appropriated.

Currently, the national debt is $20.4 trillion. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the projected budget deficit for FY 2017 and FY is $804 billion and $855 billion, respectively. Congress is only a few years away from the $1+ trillion deficits that Republicans frequently and rightly criticized under President Barack Obama. Long-term projections are even more ominous from a budgetary perspective. Sadly, Congress is once again avoiding difficult choices at the expense of future generations.

The Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act is the manner by which it will be considered on the House floor. The bill is being brought to the floor the under a suspension of the rules, meaning that two-thirds of members present and voting have to vote in the affirmative for passage. The manner by which the bill will be brought to the also means that no amendments that could offset the $36.5 spending bill will be considered.

FreedomWorks will count the vote on the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act on our 2017 Congressional Scorecard. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of the House and Senate who consistently vote to support economic freedom and individual liberty.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon, President, FreedomWorks