Press Releases

Washington - “The $1.1 trillion appropriations measure passed today by the U.S. House is a missed opportunity.  Rather than shoring up America’s finances and instituting a deliberate, long-term budgeting process that provides certainty for families and job creators and minimizing America’s risk of fiscal insolvency, this omnibus bill makes matters decidedly worse.

While I'm pleased with certain aspects of the funding measure, such as a two-year delay in the Obamacare tax on many American’s health insurance plans, and ending an oil export ban that hinders job growth and empowers our Nation’s enemies, I ultimately voted against the bill because it continues policies that threaten national security and are fiscally irresponsible.

The omnibus fully funds President Obama’s program to resettle Syrian refugees in the United States. The President’s own national security advisors repeatedly have warned that the U.S. government lacks the resources and information needed to fully vet Syrian refugees. That’s why I joined 289 of my colleagues in a veto-proof, bipartisan majority to pause the Syrian refugee process until an effective vetting system is in place. Unfortunately, this legislation was not included as part of the omnibus. 

Overall, the spending in the omnibus bill is $50 billion higher than the levels set by the original Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) levels. Since its enactment in 2011, the BCA caps set by the law have been exceeded each year. This simply is irresponsible and unacceptable, and it's got to stop. 

Rather than shoring up America’s finances, Congress handed the gavel to President Obama and funded his misguided policies for another year.  We must do better and I’ll continue working toward that end.