Republicans are all-in on massive end-of-the-year spending spree

Stephen Moore writes at the Washington Examiner, “The federal government is running annual $1 trillion to $2 trillion budget deficits, which is more than the entire gross domestic product of most nations. But if you believed that Republicans would take a chainsaw to the budget (figuratively) and slash the waste from the federal budget, then to paraphrase the Oliver Twist character of Fagin, the miser, ‘I think you had better think it out again.’

Even more preposterous is the size of this year's $1.7 trillion ‘omnibus’ spending bill for fiscal 2023 that Christmas-wraps hundreds upon hundreds of billions of congressional spending in one giant gift box to special interests — all with a bright red bow on top.

⚠️ Even Republicans are all in on Washington's end-of-year spending spree #GOP #ampFW https://t.co/PwVpjGl5La

— FreedomWorks (@FreedomWorks) December 16, 2022

Few read what's actually in the omnibus. And that's the whole point. No one knows what's in it. This way, the Congress critters can claim plausible deniability when they learn of the subsidies for wool farmers.

The current omnibus seems to be asexually reproducing as the size of the monster keeps getting bigger and bigger. Are Republicans really going to sign on to this 'bipartisan' fiscal disaster? According to Heritage Foundation budget expert Matt Dickerson, it's a real possibility. His numbers show that the lame-duck spending legislation may wind up spending more than the Biden administration's inflationary American Rescue Plan, which cost $1.9 trillion.

Add to this subtotal pension bailout, tax extenders, more COVID-19 relief money, and other odds and ends, and this congressional shopping spree and the omnibus becomes one of the most expensive budgets in American history.”

Read the entire column.