You can call it "omnibus",
"cromnibus" or a Christmas tree of goodies for special interests. The
House voted on Thursday and we hear that the
Senate will vote on Monday.
I call it a dysfunctional federal government and something that no one can be proud of.
First, the federal government should look to the states for a few lessons in budgeting. Most states require a balanced budget and that forces legislators to work on solutions rather than speeches. It's time to revive the balanced budget amendment that was so popular in the 1980s.
Second, every businessman in the country operates with a budget and required to submit it on time. Small and large companies have to prepare, negotiate and then explain their budgetary choices. Most businesses usually have a deadline to write a budget but in Washington DC we have something called the "CR", or continuing resolution. In the real world, a budget is something that you complete whereas in Washington DC it is something that you keep punting and punting.
Third, these huge bills include stuff that most hard working Americans can not understand. This is a bit of what's in that mammoth bill:
"AFFORDABLE CARE ACT:
The law is still funded, but there's no new money for it. There's
also no new ACA-related funding for the Internal Revenue Service and the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the two agencies most responsible for
implementing the law. The bill also would cut the budget of the Independent
Payment Advisory Board -- what Republicans have called "the death panel" -- by
$10 million.
AFGHANISTAN:
Congress withholds funding for the Afghan government "until certain
conditions are met," including implementing the bilateral security agreement
reached with the United States.
AMTRAK:
The nation's rail passenger service earns $1.39 billion, the same
amount it currently receives. The rail service carries passengers through 46
states and hit an all-time high of 31.6 million passengers during the last
fiscal year, according to Democratic aides."
Am the only
voter who thinks that these three items should be voted up and down in 3
different bills? Why should a representative's Afghanistan vote impact
Amtrak? I don't get it.
As the new Congress comes in, I hope that President Obama and the GOP commit to a timely disposition of budget items. It is embarrassing to have this annual circus around our federal budget.
P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.
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