[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 22029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. JOHANNS. Madam President, I rise today to briefly discuss the so-
called omnibus spending package that is apparently headed this way. 
This budget-busting, trillion-dollar spending behemoth is nearly 2,000 
pages in length, and it is laden with over 6,000 earmarks for various 
special interests.
  This is a debacle that could have been avoided. Today is the 349th 
day of this year. There are only 16 days until the end of the year. 
There are only 10 days until one of the most sacred Christian 
holidays--Christmas. Yet the majority waited until just now to unveil 
our first real appropriations bill that will be considered on the 
Senate floor in the entire year.
  The fiscal year began on October 1 of this year. Yet we have waited 
over 2 months to even consider a fiscal year 2011 spending bill. How 
could anybody claim this is responsible management of our citizens' tax 
dollars? There is no way to sugarcoat it. Congress has been derelict in 
its duty to produce any of the 12 annual appropriations bills for the 
fiscal year.
  We did not even bother to debate or pass a budget resolution this 
year to at least create the notion that Congress wanted to constrain 
spending. While Americans across this country are taking a hard look at 
their finances, prioritizing their spending, their government continues 
to max the taxpayer credit card. This one is a doozy: 1,924 pages, 
$1.27 trillion in spending, $9 billion more than even last year's 
unacceptable spending levels, over 6,000--let me repeat that--over 
6,000 earmarks that were funded more on geography and political 
influence than on anything to do with merit. That is $8 billion worth 
of earmarks when the American people are crying out for transparency 
and thought they had sent a strong message in November.
  While we should have been considering how to constrain spending, the 
authors of this legislation were busy behind closed doors seeing how 
much pork they could return to their States. This ``you get yours and I 
will get mine'' mentality is one of the reasons we have the budgetary 
hole we have dug. Yet we see 6,000 earmarks tucked away in this 
legislation.
  Let me just give three of the priorities, according to these 
earmarks: $200,000 of somebody's hard-earned tax dollars for beaver 
management; $1.5 million of somebody's hard-earned tax dollars for 
mosquito trapping; $300,000 of somebody's hard-earned tax dollars for 
the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
  The list goes on and on. I could be here for the next 24 hours going 
through the list.
  When I was Secretary of Agriculture, we proposed a budget, and we 
would not have a single earmark in it. But after the logrolling 
occurred on Capitol Hill, we would get our funding back, and it would 
be absolutely stuffed with earmarks, spending somebody's hard-earned 
tax dollars.
  It is a sad commentary that a few million dollars in home State pork 
can often convince someone to swallow $1 trillion of government 
spending. Yet that is where we end up too often. It looks to me like 
this is greased, and it is going to happen again. The authors of this 
legislation simply missed the message of November 2. We should be 
passing appropriations bills that actually rein in spending instead of 
doubling down, spending more, and adding to the era of big government. 
Yet this massive bill is laden with end-of-the-year gifts.
  One supporter of the spending bill actually admitted it was the 
Christmas tree of all time, adorned by spending somebody else's hard-
earned tax dollars. This spending juggernaut is simply not what 
Americans want or deserve.
  While we are faced with numerous challenges, none is greater than 
tackling this growing spending in our national debt. In fact, a 
bipartisan group of almost 20 Senators came to the floor yesterday--and 
I was part of that group--to pledge our commitment to address the 
national debt.
  How ironic that this massive spending bill is being discussed the 
very next day. Maybe actions speak louder than words. It is time for us 
to actually back up the rhetoric on controlling spending. A look at the 
last appropriations bills just since I arrived a couple of years ago 
shows spending is growing by 17 percent. The sad truth of that number 
is there is no economy--no economy--that can grow the revenues fast 
enough to keep up with the spending appetite of Washington, DC.
  In fact, in a few years we will be spending more on finance charges 
than the entire defense budget. It is like a family running up the 
credit card and then looking for more credit cards. But, unfortunately, 
it is now commonplace to pass bills that spend $1 trillion when our 
citizens are saying: Please stop. Unfortunately, the spending has not 
stopped.
  I will oppose this bill, and I will do all I can to advocate that my 
colleagues do the same. Government spends too much. We need to keep 
more at home with the people.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________