While many Americans are tightening their belts this spring, Congress has gone on a mad spending spree! In addition to the so-called “stimulus” passed just over two weeks ago, the Senate is now considering the pork-laden 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act. This bill will cost taxpayers $410 billion and represents an eight percent increase from 2008 levels. Combined with the “stimulus” package, total expenditures for some agencies represent an 80 percent increase in spending for fiscal 2009.
Even worse, the mammoth bill is fattened with pork, including such outrageous items as $1.9 million for the Pleasure Beach water taxi in Connecticut, the “water taxi to nowhere”; $1.8 million to conduct research in Iowa on “swine odor and manure management”; and $380,000 for the construction of a recreation and fairground area in Kotzebue, Alaska.
Instead of recognizing the fiscal reality of a projected $1.75 trillion deficit, Congress is intent on saddling you, your children, and grandchildren with enormous debt – all in a self-serving attempt to cater to the special interests and “buy” votes back home!
Your help is needed today to call on Congress to reject this overstuffed spending package! The Senate is scheduled to vote on the Omnibus Appropriations Act later this week.
Related Reading:
Congress: The Electoral Connection, Second EditionIn this second edition to a book that has now achieved canonical status, David R. Mayhew argues that the principal motivation of legislators is reelection and that the pursuit of this goal affects the way they behave and the way that they make public policy. In a new foreword for this edition, R. Douglas Arnold discusses why the book revolutionized the study of Congress and how it has stood the test of time. The book also contains a new preface by the author.
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009OCLC Number: (OCoLC)320836326 Subject: United States -- Appropriations and expenditures, 2009. Excerpt: ...applicable appropriations in this Act for travel expenses incident to the holding of hearings as required by 5 U.S.C. 551-558. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations (including transfers of funds) For necessary expenses of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations to carry out the programs funded by this Act, including programs involving intergovernmental affairs and liaison within the executive branch, $3,877,000: Provided, That these funds may be transferred to agencies of the Department of Agriculture funded by this Act to maintain personnel at the agency level: Provided further, That no funds made available by this appropriation may be obligated after 30 days from the date of enactment of this Act, unless the Secretary has notified the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress on the allocation of these funds by USDA agency: Provided further, That no other funds appropriated to the Department by this Act shall be available to the Department for support of activities of congressional relations. Office of Communications For necessary expenses of the Office of Communications, $9,514,000. Office of Inspector General For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General, including employment pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, $85,766,000, including such sums as may be necessary for contracting and other arrangements with public agencies and private persons pursuant to section 6(a)(9) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, and including not to exceed $125,000 for certain confidential operational expenses, including the payment of informants, to be expended under the direction of the Inspector General pursuant to Public L...
THE STIMULUS PACKAGE: WHY MEN CHEATSheila Whalum’s book The Stimulus Package: Why Men Cheat is a must read, especially for Men! She asks the question of men: Have you ever wanted to be a guest of Hugh Hefner’s at his Playboy Mansion? History seems to suggest that some men apparently want more than one woman in their lives at a time, other than their wives. She gives many reasons as to Why Men Cheat.
my horse is smarter than your congressman rodeo bumper sticker 7x21/2this is a funny sticker that some folks think is really true it is on a white background just peel and stick it on
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The Most Exclusive Club: A History of the Modern United States SenateIn this sweeping narrative, acclaimed political historian Lewis L. Gould chronicles over one hundred years of Senate history, from the Progressive Era to the war in Iraq. Over the course of the twentieth century, the most powerful legislative body in the world grappled with great questions of empire and democracy, war and peace, capital and labor, fascism and communism, race relations, women’s rights, and terrorism. In addition to towering figures such as Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr., William E. Borah, and Lyndon Johnson, Gould also highlights the stories of lesser-known Senate leaders who have played vital roles in America’s upper house. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, controversy surrounding the Senate is intensifying-as is its political power. Lewis L. Gould’s masterful history is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the past, present, and future of American politics.
