Senate Passes Massive Overspending Bill; Pelosi Says More’s Coming

The Senate finally passed the Democrats’ Pet Project Plus Bill, $410 Billion dollars of earmarked, pockmarked pork. The 1,132-page spending spree has massive overreach, wrapping together nine spending bills to fund the annual operating budgets of every Cabinet department except for Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. The Senate approved the measure by voice after it cleared a procedural roadbump by a 62-35 vote. Sixty votes were required to shut down debate.

Bipartisan support for the leftover-from-last year bill crashed after projected deficits quadrupled and Obama’s Porkulus left many of the same projects swimming in cash. It was an increase of over 8 percent over last year’s budget, and after the TARPS, and the Pork, and now Pork 2…America isn’t so confident that Obama’s quick-rush offense is in their best interests.

Some Republicans noted that the government has been functioning just fine for more than five months at last year’s funding levels. “Why not go back to 2008 levels,” said Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. “That would be a responsible action that might start giving confidence to the American people.”

Adding in spending bills passed last year for defense, homeland security and the Veterans Administration — as well as $288.7 billion in appropriated money in the stimulus bill — total appropriations so far for 2009 have reached $1.4 trillion. And that’s before the Pentagon submits another $75 billion or so request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Appropriated spending for 2008 was $1.2 trillion; Obama’s budget for next year calls for $1.3 trillion in appropriations. Democrats stopped action on the nine bills last year, gambling that Obama would win the election and restore hundreds of cuts proposed by Bush. They got him, but he promised during last year’s campaign to force Congress to cut out earmarks. The bill contains 7,991 earmarks totaling $5.5 billion, according to calculations by the Republican staff of the House Appropriations Committee. After Obama signs it on Wednesday, he’s promised to make Congress stop with the earmarks. Ohhkay.

Obama won key environmentalist victories that will make it easier for him to push his climate change agenda by reversing some Bush policies. There are big increases in the budget for the poor, including a 14 percent boost for WIC, and a 10 percent increase for housing vouchers. Nice, fat, above-inflation increases are spread all over the place, including a $2.4 billion, 13 percent increase for the Agriculture Department and a 10 percent increase for the money-losing Amtrak passenger rail system.

Congress also awarded itself a 10 percent increase in its OWN budget, bringing it to $4.4 billion. What’s that sound? One hand clapping. Nancy Pelosi says to get ready for more spending to come in the very near future. No, really. She means it.

source: FNC

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