Washington, DC:
Once again, Congress is planning to fully fund every one of the priorities of President Barack Obama, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. But there is still time for Members to fight—and the Conservative Movement will stand strongly behind them when they do.
The current Continuing Resolution expires on December 11th, so Congress and the President must enact some sort of appropriations bill before then. Presumably, this bill will take the form of an “omnibus,” a multi-thousand-page bill that funds every federal department, agency, and function. Traditionally, in addition to standard operating expenses of the federal government, this bill is packed with Washington favors for lobbyists and liberal interest groups. Unfortunately, this bill, despite its size and impact, tends to be considered by both houses of Congress without any ability for the rank-and-file Member of Congress to amend the bill. But it does not have to be this way.
One of the most important powers of Congress is the “power of the purse”—the power to determine the details of federal spending. The power of the purse gives Congress the power to send bills to the president that spend money on the items Congress wants and that does not spend money on items Congress does not want.
There are many things in the omnibus that conservatives should insist stop being funded by the federal government including:
- Obamacare
- Syrian refugee resettlement
- Planned Parenthood
- Implementation of the Iran nuclear deal
- President Obama’s executive amnesty
- Sanctuary cities
- Waters of the U.S.
- Any part of the upcoming Paris Protocol
Among the priorities being added as riders to the omnibus spending package is a provision by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that would allow party committees to spend an unfettered amount of money in coordination with candidates. The provision would apply to political parties only, setting up a different standard between the parties and other multi-candidate committees. Political contribution is a form of free speech, which is protected by our Constitution and should not be limited. There is no doubt that campaign finance restrictions need reform; however, the McConnell rider provides preferential treatment to the Washington establishment, and subordinates the voices of those who contribute to other multi-candidate organizations. Therefore, the Congress should not include this rider.
Additionally, bills should go through regular order and every Member of Congress and the public should have a minimum of 72 hours to review the final bill. If this means that Congress must spend additional time working on this bill, then that’s what should be done. The American people deserve no less.
It is important that Republicans fight early, hard, and in a sustained manner for conservative policy priorities, the ones on which Republicans ran and won in 2014 and previously. If the President vetoes the omnibus because he would rather side with crony interests and his fellow ideologues than stand with the American people, then so be it. He and his fellow Democrats will have to answer for it.
We urge Congressional Republicans to fight for conservative priorities. We are ready, willing and able to fight alongside them.
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The Honorable Edwin Meese III
Former Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan
The Honorable Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
L. Brent Bozell, III
Founder and President
Media Research Center
Alfred S. Regnery
Chairman
Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
Ed Corrigan
Former Executive Director
Senate Steering Committee
William L. Walton
Vice President
Council for National Policy
Anthony Saliba
CEO
Saliba Venture Management
Judson Phillips
Founder, Tea Party Nation
TPN Networks & Teapartynation.com
Melissa Ortiz
Founder & Principal
Able Americans
Andresen Blom
Executive Director
Grassroot Hawaii Action
Herman Cain
CEO and President
www.hermancain.com
William W. Pascoe, III
Antietam Communications
Ron Pearson
Executive Director
Conservative Victory Fund
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage
Ted Baehr
Publisher
MOVIEGUIDE(R)
Member, Broadcast Film Critics Association
Lee A. Beaman
Chief Executive Officer
Beaman Automotive
Ron Robinson
President
Young America’s Foundation
Glyn Wright
Executive Director
Eagle Forum
Mr. Lewis K. Uhler
Founder and President
National Tax Limitation Committee
Tricia Erickson
President
Angel Pictures And Publicity Inc.
Nancy Schulze
Founder, Congressional Wives Speakers
Co-founder with Vonette Bright
The American Prayer Initiative
Richard and Susan Falknor
Publishers
Blue Ridge Forum
Beldon Bell
Trustee
The Heritage Foundation
Kevin Freeman
Founder
NSIC Institute
Robert K. Fischer
Meeting Coordinator for Conservatives of Faith
(All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only)
UPDATED: 2/5/16
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The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop
Chairman, Conservative Action Project (CAP)
Former White House Advisor, President Ronald Reagan
The Honorable Bob McEwen
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Ohio
The Honorable Colin A. Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring, Inc.
Diana L. Banister
Shirley & Banister Public Affairs
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Former Treasurer
State of Ohio
David Bozell
President
ForAmerica
Phyllis Schlafly
Founder & Chairman
Eagle Forum
Ken Cuccinelli
President
Senate Conservatives Fund
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Kevin Kookogey
President & Founder
The Advancing Church
Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
Donna Rice Hughes
President & CEO
Enough Is Enough
Kenneth F. Boehm
Chairman
National Legal and Policy Center
Christopher N. Malagisi
President
Young Conservatives Coalition
Ed Martin
President
Eagle Forum
Mike Spence
President
Conservative Republicans of California
Rick Scarborough
President
Vision America Action
Tim Wildmon
President
American Family Association
George Landrith
President
Frontiers of Freedom
Bob Adams
President
Revive America PAC
Willes K. Lee
Executive Vice President
National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Tim LeFever
Chairman
Capitol Resource Institute
Donna Hearne
CEO
The Constitutional Coalition
Gary Aldrich
President
CNP Action, Inc.
Susan A. Carleson
President
American Civil Rights Union
Briscoe Cain
Texas Legal Counsel
Operation Rescue
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