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Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after voting against the passage of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, better known as the “CROmnibus” spending bill:
“The time has come where Congress must stand for something or fall for everything. The American people voted overwhelmingly for a change in how business is done in Washington D.C. and this “CROmnibus” does the exact opposite. They are fed up of the executive overreach coming from President Obama and his big government policies. They are fed up with Congress passing massive spending bills with little to no time to read what is actually in the bill.
“By not taking a stand against this flawed process, we are damaging, for future generations, the institution that has been the heartbeat of our Republic. My constituents did not send me to Congress to be part of the status quo. I will continue to stand against the president’s unconstitutional amnesty as well as the flawed process of lawmaking without proper oversight and accountability.”
Background
The “CROmnibus”, also known as the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, combined a continuing resolution and omnibus funding bill. The agreement preserves the previously agreed upon Ryan-Murray spending caps of $521 billion for defense and $492 billion for non-defense spending.
The omnibus portion of the bill funds 11 of 12 appropriations bills that fund the various parts of the federal government. The continuing resolution funds the Department of Homeland Security as the only agency not funded through the end of the fiscal year. The funding for Homeland Security will expire on February 27, 2015. It is understood that the president’s executive action granting legal status for millions of illegal immigrants would be implemented through the Department of Homeland Security.
Congressman Gosar voted against the bill primarily because it failed to immediately take action to defund the unconstitutional presidential amnesty order. But the bill also contains several key victories spearheaded by the Congressman and many reforms he supports.
The Congressman passed an amendment cutting hundreds of millions from the IRS. This bill closely parallels Gosar's amendment to cut IRS spending. Information about that amendment can be found HERE.
In addition, section 416 of the Transportation Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill prohibits funds from going to the NHTSA's unconstitutional national roadside survey. That was a Gosar amendment. More information on that legislation can be found HERE. Additionally, the appropriations section contains Congressman Gosar's amendment prohibiting funding for scrims. More information about that amendment can be found HERE
Congressman Gosar also supports funding cuts to the EPA, funding to combat ISIS, the full funding of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT), no new funding for Obamacare, and funding for wildfire fighting among other provisions in the bill.
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