Omnibus Spending Bill: Huge Spending and 9,000 Earmarks Represent Business as Usual

Omnibus Spending Bill: Huge Spending and 9,000 Earmarks Represent Business as Usual: "Even a recession and record $1.4 trillion budget deficit has not altered Congress's business-as-usual culture of spending and pork. While families and entrepreneurs are responsibly bringing their own budgets under control, Congress is spending and earmarking as if nothing has changed in the economy. The House has already passed—and the Senate will soon take up—a mammoth FY 2009 omnibus appropriation bill[1] that:

* Provides an 8 percent discretionary spending hike for the second consecutive year;
* Combines with the 'stimulus' bill for a staggering 80 percent increase in these discretionary programs;
* May contribute to a permanent $2,000 per-household tax hike;
* Contains 9,287 pork projects at a cost of nearly $13 billion; "

This bill represents nearly everything Democrats had criticized about the earlier Republican Congresses. It forces lawmakers to vote quickly on a bloated package combining nine separate appropriations bills. It irresponsibly expands the already-record budget deficit. And despite strongly worded proclamations about cleaning up Washington, the 2009 appropriation bills will have the second-most earmarks in history. During this time of recession and skyrocketing budget deficits, America cannot afford budgets that continue to spend and earmark as usual.