[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2919-S2920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, the bill the Senate will vote on 
later today represents a missed opportunity. In the midst of a serious 
economic downturn, the Senate had a chance to show it could impose the 
same kind of restraint on itself that millions of Americans are being 
forced to impose on themselves at the moment. The bill costs far too 
much for a government that should be watching every dime. If the 
President is looking for a first bill to veto, this is it.
  The original version of the bill showed no recognition whatsoever of 
the current economic climate. With the stock market plunging, 
unemployment at a 25-year high, and millions struggling to pay their 
mortgages, the bill sent over from the House included an across-the-
board 8-percent increase in spending over last year. That is twice the 
rate of inflation.
  Republicans in the Senate tried to cut the bill's cost. Our ideas 
would have saved billions of taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, every 
single effort was turned aside.
  The senior Senator from Arizona proposed an amendment that would have 
held spending in the omnibus at last year's level. The senior Senator 
from Texas offered an amendment that would have cut spending on the 122 
programs that were already funded in the stimulus bill--the so-called 
double dipping that many of us warned would take place if Congress 
moved the stimulus before the omnibus. Remarkably, even that was too 
much for some. The junior Senator from Oklahoma proposed an amendment 
that would have cut projects that benefited a lobbying firm under 
Federal investigation. That too was rejected.
  These Republican ideas were sensible, commonsense ways to cut 
spending. Unfortunately, the majority did not like any of them. This 
would have been irresponsible in good economic times.

[[Page S2920]]

At this moment, this total unwillingness to cut a single dollar from 
this bill is simply indefensible.
  Just as troubling as the lack of restraint is a provision to 
literally shut down the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program which helped 
1,700 students in the District of Columbia attend private schools last 
year at a fraction of what the city spends per pupil on public 
education. This program is clearly--clearly--popular among parents, 
since the city receives four applications for every available slot. Yet 
our friends on the other side will reject an amendment to preserve it.
  On this issue, it is incredibly difficult to see how the majority can 
match their rhetoric with their actions. It should be unthinkable to 
terminate a program aimed at giving inner-city students the same 
educational opportunities that middle-class or affluent students enjoy.
  Republicans tried to improve the omnibus with commonsense proposals 
that Americans support. The junior Senator from Arizona proposed an 
amendment that would have required the Secretary of State to certify 
that none of the funds made available for reconstruction efforts in 
Gaza are diverted either to Hamas or to entities controlled by Hamas. 
The junior Senator from South Dakota offered an amendment that 
prohibits the use of funds for any effort aimed at reviving the 
fairness doctrine, which limited free speech until its repeal more than 
two decades ago. Unfortunately, the majority said no.
  In the midst of an economic crisis, a government has an obligation to 
show restraint. But as our friends turned aside every effort to trim 
back spending on the omnibus bill, it became clear that many in 
Congress still think Government operates in a different realm of 
reality than the rest of the country. Apparently, they do not think the 
Federal Government is obligated to make any of the tough decisions that 
millions of American families are making every single day.
  Spending and borrowing at this dizzying rate is simply unacceptable. 
We need to be thinking about the long-term sustainability of our 
economy and creating jobs and opportunity for future generations. We 
should have started on this bill by insisting that it include some of 
the hard choices on spending that Americans themselves are making every 
single day.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.

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