Key Vote “No” H.R. 1105: 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Bill

On behalf of hundreds of thousands of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to vote NO on H.R. 1105, the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill.  Far from the new fiscal responsibility taxpayers were recently promised at President Obama’s Economic Summit, this bill is a whopping 80 percent spending increase packed with earmarks and sweeping policy changes.

Rather than considering each appropriations bill individually, allowing time for Congress and the public to scrutinize, view, and debate the merits of these funding levels, this massive bill leaves gaping holes in accountability.  This has resulted in over 9,000 earmarks for Congressional pork projects totaling approximately $5 billion in new spending.  In addition to the thousands of earmarks, a lack of oversight has provided funds to agencies and programs that already received money through the earlier Economic Stimulus plan, in essence letting many “double-dip” from taxpayer funds. 

The Omnibus Appropriations bill also hides many significant policy changes that should be considered on their own.  These include: terminating the very successful D.C. School Voucher program – a program that has provided students of all backgrounds the opportunity to attend the school of their choice that suits their individual needs; funding for a new House Office building; and $245 million for “Housing Counseling” to be administered through HUD.  Previously these funds ended up in the hands of ACORN, an activist group convicted of vote fraud and spearheading a campaign to trespass on, and take over, foreclosed properties.

Altogether the omnibus increases government spending at more than double the rate of inflation and almost triple the rate of median growth in household incomes.  This is a country deep in recession that just tripled the deficit with earlier spending packages; Congress should not be expanding government or increasing spending anywhere.  The bill for this spending will come due and when it does, it will have to be paid for with more taxes, hurting families and businesses already burdened from the loss of savings, jobs, and growing inflation.

Instead of looking for ways to spend more of the taxpayers’ hard earned money, Congress should simply pass a continuing resolution, freezing spending for government programs at the current levels.

We will count your vote on H.R. 1105 as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2009. The Economic Freedom Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.

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