As you may know, Congress holds the power of the purse and must pass laws every year to fund the government. This should be done through a process where Congress votes for a budget that sets overall spending levels and then passes spending bills to fund the twelve departments of the federal government. That way, we can review all government programs line-by-line to ensure responsible stewardship of your hard-earned tax dollars.

 

Last Congress, I was pleased when the House of Representatives, under Republican leadership, passed all twelve spending bills for Fiscal Year 2018. I was proud to help ensure these bills fully funded our military, reined in government spending, and helped chip away at our bloated bureaucracy. That’s how Congress is supposed to operate – carefully reviewing each spending bill separately to ensure our priorities are truly met, or at least fiercely debated.  

 

Things are going a little differently this year under Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

 

First, she has decided to not even try to pass a budget. Then, instead of going through our government-funding bills one by one, Pelosi has decided to jam together several bills in what’s called a “minibus” – only in Washington can you refer to something that spends one trillion dollars as mini. What does this mean in real-world terms? It means next week we are voting on a piece of legislation several thousand pages long, and last week we voted on hundreds of amendments to the bill with little or no time to actually review and debate. Not to mention the spending is $176 billion above current budget caps.

 

That’s strike number one.

 

Like me, I’m sure you agree this is a terrible way to manage our tax dollars, and it is one of all the things people hate about Washington.

 

Beyond my concerns about this process, I have serious concerns about what this bill would do to our national security priorities and particularly at Fort Bragg. For example, this legislation would repeal the Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF), seriously jeopardizing the Pentagon’s ability to conduct counterterrorism operations worldwide, and seriously endangering our soldiers who are right now deployed under this authorization.

 

That’s strike two.

 

Ultimately, there are some provisions in the funding bill that I support and have fought to advance such as increased funding for Special Operations Command and the Traumatic Brain Injury program at the Centers for Disease Control, funding for Head Start programs, and better resources for the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Community Health Centers. But the bad far outweighs the good – including $100 million to ineffective outreach programs for failed Obamacare and grants to Planned Parenthood clinics.

 

If you’re keeping score, this is strike number three.

 

The legislation will be voted on by the House this week, and I plan to vote no. It is time for Republicans and Democrats to come together and begin this process again. We need to put politics aside and work together on the priorities that matter to you and your family. 

 

While all the talk about budgets, debt and appropriations can get complicated, it all boils down to one simple point: our country is facing an enormous debt of $22.3 trillion dollars – and counting. I have said it before and I’ll say it again – this is perhaps the biggest threat to our national security and future generations. As your representative, I’ll continue to fight to cut spending and secure a future for our children that doesn’t leave them buried in debt.