Today, Congressman Jason Smith released the following statement after voting against the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill today in the U.S. House of Representatives:
“This $1.1 trillion spending bill was made available to Members of Congress just two days before a vote was held. The bill is 1,582 pages. I find it hard to believe that anyone had the time needed to properly vet this legislation before the vote was called. We learned with ObamaCare what happens when Congress rushes massive new legislation to a vote before the bill can be read. We must stop repeating the same mistakes. Since my campaign for Congress, I have advocated for an open and transparent appropriations process. This omnibus appropriations bill was rushed through Congress at the last minute. If we ever hope to reign in our crushing national debt, we must return to regular order with the appropriations process.
Smith also said the Omnibus Appropriations bill does not fund the PILT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) program for schools, counties and local municipalities in rural Missouri, but it does provide funds for ObamaCare.
“The Omnibus Bill funds ObamaCare, while hurting rural communities and schools in Missouri. Included in the bill is funding for the President’s healthcare law, including subsidies for health insurance plans that provide abortion services. Taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund abortions. While this bill funds ObamaCare, it does not fund the $1.2 million for PILT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) which is owed to small towns, school districts and counties throughout our Eighth Congressional District. Removing vital funding from rural Missouri to pay for ObamaCare is wrong.”
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