Last week, we witnessed the passage of a $1.3 trillion deficit spending package by Congress. The president signed it into law after expressing great reservations over the fact that certain components weren’t addressed and after various members of Congress voiced concern for the massive price tag that came along with it. Sadly, this has become the standard operating procedure for how Congress funds the federal government. It’s time for Washington to work for the American people and for our legislators actually to legislate instead of merely kicking the can down the road at the expense of American taxpayers and future generations.
Every time an “omnibus” bill is introduced, politicians from both sides of the aisle compile critical components such as infrastructure, national defense, care for our veterans, and immigration so that they don’t have to deal head on with these vital issues. Further, because of today’s political environment, programs like these would not pass as stand-alone bills. They often are attached to larger spending bills that are used as vehicles to carry them across the finish line. It has become common in today’s political landscape for opposing political parties to hold our nation hostage and to threaten to shut down the government. This posture is used by politicians from both parties to run against the party in power and is leveraged to endear incumbents with their base. The result is an esoteric mess that will be funded on the backs of our children with tax revenue that has yet to come to fruition.
Congress has surpassed $20 trillion in federal debt. The abuse of taxpayer dollars by those inside the Beltway must be addressed. Current elected officials in Washington can’t continue to treat our hard-earned money like a payday loan. It’s time to get our spending under control so we can hand the next generation a surplus and opportunity, not an albatross around their necks.