Related Documents H.R. 1105 Omnibus Spending Bill

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Washington, Feb 25 -

FISCAL YEAR 2009 OMNIBUS
TOP PROGRAM FUNDING CONCERNS

The FY 2009 Omnibus contains a total of $410 billion in spending - a whopping $32 billion, or 8% increase over 2008 spending levels. On the heels of a trillion dollar stimulus bill, this huge increase will have a devastating impact on our federal debt and sets a dangerous precedent for future federal budgets.

To make matters worse, this massive spending bill was created undercover and out of view of the American public. Only three of the bills contained in the Omnibus were cleared by the full House Appropriations Committee in a public mark-up, and none were considered on the House floor. The rest have been crafted and negotiated by staff under the direction of the Democrat leadership without the involvement of the vast majority of Members of Congress or the public. In addition, there will likely be no committee mark-up of this bill, which will probably be subjected to a closed rule on the House floor that will prevent most (if not all) potential amendments.

This back-door dealing has resulted in an Omnibus package that represents the interests of a handful of Democrat leaders and staff. Everyone else – including Democrat and Republican Members of Congress and American taxpayers – has been left out.

Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA

• Agriculture Department Buildings: Provides $244 million for USDA building repairs, an increase of $49 million. The “stimulus” also included $176 million for USDA building repairs.
• Food and Drug Administration: Provides $2 billion for the FDA—an increase of $335 million (a 20% increase).

Commerce, Justice, and Science

• Salmon Recovery: Provides $80 million for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery.
• Census: Provides $3.13 billion for the 2010 Census, which recently received $1 billion in additional “stimulus” money.

Energy and Water Development

• Energy Efficiency: Provides $1.9 billion for Department of Energy for energy efficiency initiatives.
• Nuclear Energy: $792 million for new buildings and 30 new vehicles (one is an ambulance).

Financial Services

• $746,317,000 for construction of buildings.
• $4,887,622 for District of Columbia projects specifically to benefit residents.
• $692,372,000 for repairs and alterations to buildings.

Department of Interior

• Foot Bridge: Provides $3 million in funding to the St. Lois Metropolitan Park and Recreation Dept. for planning and constructing a foot bridge.
• Smithsonian: $123 million for the Smithsonian to construct new buildings.

Labor and Health and Human Services

• Corporation for Public Broadcasting:  Provides $430 million in a Fiscal Year 2011 advance appropriation for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
• NEA:  Provides $155 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, in addition to the $50 million for the NEA provided in the “stimulus” bills.

Legislative Branch

• Greening the Capitol: Provides $1 million for making the Capitol more energy efficient.

State/Foreign Operations

• Educational and Cultural Exchange: Provides $538 million for educational and cultural exchange expenses.
• USAID: Provides $808.5 million, $178 million more than last year, for the U.S. Agency for International Development to hire 300 additional Foreign Service officers.
• International Family Planning: Provides $545 million for State Department to fund foreign family planning programs, funds that will flow to abortion providers now that the Mexico City Policy has been repealed by the Obama Administration.
• UNFPA: Contains language exempting federal funding for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) from the Kemp-Kasten provision, which denies federal funding to organizations or programs that support coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.

Transportation/HUD

• Amtrak: Includes $1.49 billion for Amtrak, a program that fails to be competitive and continues to need federal subsidies to cover operating losses and capital costs. (It received $1.3 billion in stimulus.)
• Railroads: Provides $34 million for railroad research and development.

EARMARK EXAMPLES

Commerce, Justice, and Science

• $7.1 million for the recovery of Hawaiian sea turtle populations.
• $2 million for the promotion of astronomy in Hawaii.

Energy and Water

• $4.8 million for a Center of Nanoscale Energy in North Dakota.
• $1.4 million for energy efficient street lighting in Detroit.

Financial Services

• $122,000 for the Greater Toledo Arts Commission Creative Industry Development.
• $285,000 for Native Hawaiians Organizations Association entrepreneurial development.

Interior/Environment

• $800,000 for a fish passage in Washington.
• $2.7 million for the Wood Education and Resource Center in West Virginia.

Transportation/HUD

• $45 million for Streetcar Loop grants in Portland, Oregon.
• $950,000 for a bike path in Wisconsin.
• $210 million for Long Island Rail Road East Side Access, NY.

Labor/HHS

• $143,000 for Nevada Humanities “to develop and expand a comprehensive online encyclopedia.”
• $5.8 million for an Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate at the University of Massachusetts.