Wednesday, January 15, 2014

The spending plan runs more than 1,500 pages, and House lawmakers spent only one hour Wednesday debating the omnibus measure. It is packed with reams of spending and policy decisions. So, what’s in it?

The House’s $1.1 trillion spending bill: The Post’s guide - Ed O’Keefe/Washington Post

We’ve sifted through most of it and unearthed some notable and controversial elements.

“Congress is once again showing complete unwillingness to restrain spending!” -AFP President Tim Phillips. - AFP

“This spending bill is the predictable consequence of a series of poor choices from politicians on both sides of the aisle. If we continue down this road of misguided budget negotiations, our national debt will continue to grow – and hardworking Americans and their families are the ones who will end up footing the bill.”

AP: "House passes $1.1 trillion bill to fund government" -- Introduced two days ago... 1,582 pages of legislation... blasted through on a 359-67 vote... Why the rush?

"I don't think there's going to be a lot of opposition," one tea party leader, Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, said before the vote. "The die has been cast for the next year on budget fights."

To buy time for the Senate debate, Congress on Wednesday sent President Barack Obama a three-day funding bill in time to avert a scheduled shutdown at midnight. The Senate cleared that measure by an 86-14 vote and Obama quickly signed it into law.

The bill increases core agency spending by $26 billion over the fiscal 2013 year, after last year's automatic spending cuts took them to $986 billion. But it's $31 billion less than Congress passed last March before automatic cuts known as sequestration took effect....

Question: Did ANY of them actually read it before they voted on it? Now, it's headed to the Senate. Will ANY of them read it first?

Email/phone your representative and senator and ask...