The Omnibus Bill has gotten worse rather than better

Congress has passed the $1.7 trillion omnibus measure, but it’s such a mess that it wasn’t even legally prepared for the president to sign it.

I’m not kidding, either. Evidently, Congress approved a bill that wasn’t ready for the president to sign. To keep the government functioning in the interim, they then had to pass another continuing resolution. There isn’t a better metaphor for how terrible our federal government is than that.

Biden signs bill to keep government running while $1.7 trillion spending package is prepared https://t.co/LUm9peRtdu

— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 24, 2022

https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1606761646399131648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Congress and the White House prove you wrong by setting their beer down and jumping into a tank of piranhas just when you think they can’t get any more ludicrous. Even worse than the fact that no one actually read the bill was the passage of one that wasn’t even ready for signing. Does that imply that certain clauses are still being changed after both chambers have voted on it? I’m not sure, but why not allow congressmen additional time to examine the measure if it wasn’t ready?

Of course, we are aware of the response. The goal was to pass this monstrosity as quickly and painlessly as possible, not to really carry out responsible governance. Despite the fact that a continuing resolution was clearly possible, the omnibus was pushed through despite not being necessary since the nation’s oligarchs no longer care about maintaining facades. It’s completely believable while also being unbelievable.

And speaking of implausible things, the worse they grow as we learn more about the omnibus’s contents. On Friday, Dan Crenshaw showed me some items I had never seen before.

Does the good outweigh the bad? Are the negative things too much for us to digest? Every member has a somewhat different threshold.

This bill had plenty of bad stuff, not to mention the top line was simply too high. pic.twitter.com/dSqjddfQNv

— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) December 24, 2022

There’s plenty more bad things, which you’ve probably already seen all over social media. This should not have passed. The Senate should have blocked it and allowed a GOP House a chance to do better in January. pic.twitter.com/UrM18ryIZS

— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) December 24, 2022

https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1606451756996722688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Despite receiving massive sums of money under the pretense of COVID-19 relief, all federal departments saw significant topline increases in this omnibus, as Crenshaw notes. In addition to the $80 billion that it recently received as part of the recently passed reconciliation package, the IRS, for instance, receives billions more. The EPA receives extra funding for enforcement as well.

After that, the White House receives a 19.5 percent boost in money for staff while millions are designated to support a congressional “Office of Diversity and Inclusion.” On the other hand, the omnibus package completely cripples ICE and CBP with measures that prevent them from stepping up enforcement.

In conclusion, all government agencies—including those that had already been made wealthy—had money blasted at them from a cannon, with the exception of the two that are currently facing a genuine, quantifiable problem. Again, that is a brief summary of our government.

And Senate Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, opted to spit on their own voters by telling them that the GOP majority they just voted for can’t be trusted to govern. This total disaster was made possible as a result. Yes, it was one of the justifications Mitt Romney offered in the tedious video he released explaining his decision to support the omnibus. Vote Republican, though, please! Probably because it is quite important.