With about 15 minutes to “read” the text of two massive mega-buses, the House Rules Committee considered the legislation and paved its way forward for a vote later this week. The legislation, dubbed Swamp Monster #1 and Swamp Monster #2 by conservative Republicans, totals approximately $1.37 trillion. It seems that Washington has no regrets after blowing the spending caps and the budget this past July.
The packages are a reflection of the broken budget process that for many years has been dependent on continuing resolutions. The Swamp Monsters include many Democratic wins like $425 million for election security grants, a federal civilian employees 3.1% pay raise, and a $208 million raise for the EPA for a total of $9 billion. Eagle Forum is thankful the Shaheen Amendment was not included in the deal, which was rejected earlier this Fall by the Senate. The amendment undermined the life-protecting Mexico City Policy, or more recently referred to as the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA), which ensures that American taxpayer money is not being given to foreign non-governmental organizations that promote abortion abroad.
Even with this pro-life win, the Swamp Monsters are still bad policy. Members will have less than 24 hours to review and read the legislation, which totals thousands of pages. This is not enough time to make a responsible vote on legislation that has such long-term consequences on our national debt. The House and Senate should have worked together to create legislation that balances the budget and helps our economy to thrive. Please ask your Representative to vote NO on Senate Amendment to H.R. 1158 and Senate Amendment to H.R. 1865.