Staff Reports
The $1.2 trillion spending bill that Congress will be voting on Friday is causing a stir among conservative Republicans. The bill, which was only revealed just before the ungodly hour of 3:00 a.m., is over 1,000 pages long, and is leaving many Republicans feeling like they were left out in the cold.
⚠️⚠️⚠️
Congress to Vote on $1.2 Trillion Spending Bill Hours After 3:00 A.M. Release
Sounds like business as usual. No one has had time to read this spending bill, but let’s go ahead and vote on it anyway.
Our Government needs a complete overhaul. https://t.co/0JM4XGmCmc
— DK🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 (@1Nicdar) March 21, 2024
Speaker Mike Johnson’s sneaky move to push the bill through under “suspension of the rules” is not sitting well with conservatives. This sneaky maneuver bypasses the procedural opposition from conservatives and doesn’t give Congress the required 72 hours to review the bill before voting on it.
Before the text of the bill was even released, Johnson was touting minimal wins for conservatives, but Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky expressed frustration, stating that conservatives secured “nothing.” It seems like the Speaker was just giving them lip service.
With a potential government shutdown looming if the bill doesn’t pass, the pressure is on. It’s clear that rank-and-file members were not given a real chance to have a say in the bill, which seems to be a recurring theme in Congress.
The compromise includes provisions to increase detention beds available to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and permits Customs and Border Protection to hire more agents, despite there being no evidence of the need for these increases. It seems like a waste of taxpayer money.
Conservatives are feeling frustrated and left out, and it’s clear that this isn’t how Congress should be operating. The lack of transparency and opportunity for input is a big issue.
It’s time for Congress to start putting the needs of the American people first, instead of playing political games. The lack of consideration for conservative voices is a clear example of how broken the system in Washington truly is. If the House passes the bill on Friday, the Senate will need to take it up, but some Senators may try to hold up the vote in exchange for votes on amendments, although those are likely to fail.
This kind of backroom dealing is not what the American people deserve, and it’s time for Congress to start doing the people’s business in a way that is transparent and fair to everyone involved.
