Throw Omnibus Under the Bus

By:  Dale Weckbacher

1 Timothy 6:10

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

NKJV

Once again, we face the end of another year and the government is out of money and faces a shutdown.  If we listen to political leaders, we would believe that the apocalypse was looming.  The only thing according to these wizards of smart is to pass a deficit increasing debt creating omnibus spending bill. 

As an adjective, Omnibus means an item comprising several items.  (1)  A government-spending bill containing several items is a spending bill with a massive price tag.  With the United States debt now exceeding $18 trillion, (2) an omnibus spending bill with a massive price tag is the last thing the nation needs.  It is time to stop this insanity and throw omnibus under the bus. 

The voters in the United States spoke loud and clear this past November especially on the issues of taxes and spending.  (3)   They are tired of an out of control government spending the nation into financial bankruptcy.  They fired the Democrat controlled Senate leadership, replacing it with what they believe will be a more fiscally responsible Republican leadership.  However, if we allow the current lame duck Congress and Senate to strap the incoming congress with their fiscally irresponsible spending until September 30, 2015, we will lose a year, a year in which we could begin reversing the dangerous ballooning of the national debt. 

Republicans control the House of Representatives in the current lame duck Congress and since all spending bills originate in the House, have the power to spend a temporary spending bill funding the government at current levels into 2015 and then giving the incoming Republican controlled House and Senate the power to pass their own fiscally responsible spending bill.  Unfortunately, however, the House leadership fears being blamed for an apocalyptic government shutdown.

We heard the same thing when the government was briefly, and partially, shut down in 2013.  (4)  Republicans feared losing the House and Senate.  However, these fears proved to be unfounded as the Republicans not only increased their majority in the House of Representatives but also gained a majority in the Senate.  The Republican leadership fails to comprehend that the voter is intelligent and understands that they were not the cause of the 2013 shutdown but that it was the result of liberals like Harry Reid and Barack Obama not being willing to compromise on their profligate spending. 

To prevent us from having to spend our Christmas holiday with an ominous cloud of a government shutdown looming over the nations head we must:

1)      Pass a budget – The budgetary deadline for funding the Federal Government each fiscal year is October 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.  For several years, the United States government has failed to pass a budget and instead functions off temporary spending resolutions.  The reason for this is that budgets reveal spending plans for government programs each fiscal year.  Failure to pass a budget means government can hide their out of control spending from voters through the passage of temporary spending resolutions and omnibus spending bills.  However, they may be able to hide but the ballooning deficits and debt reveal the irresponsibility of government spending.

2)      Change the Fiscal Year – Congress, and a new President take office in the United States in January.  However, with the end of the fiscal year being in September, an incoming Congress and President have to live the first nine months of their terms working with the budget of their predecessors.  I believe we should move the end of the fiscal year to the end of February, giving an incoming Congress and President the power to construct a budget based on what they ran for election on. 

3)      Pass a balanced budget amendment – Most states in the United States are required to pass balanced budgets.  The reason for this is obvious, they cannot print more money and therefore either have to live within the means of tax revenue they collect or borrow money, increasing the debt of their states.  Since habitually increasing debt eventually leads to bankruptcy, most states have learned to live within the means of tax revenue.  Unfortunately, the Federal Government has the ability to keep itself afloat by essentially printing more money through quantitative easing.  This is why we must pass a balanced budget amendment forcing the Federal Government to live within the means of tax revenue they collect.  In conjunction with the passage of a balanced budget amendment, we must also pass an amendment requiring a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress to pass any tax increase.  This is necessary to prevent the Congress from increasing taxes to cover their out of control spending. 

Unfortunately, with money comes power.  1 Timothy 6:10 at the beginning of this article tells us that to love money is the root of evil.  The Federal Government of the United States loves the taxpayers’ money and has no problem spending every dime of it and then borrowing and creating more money to pass out of control spending bills giving them more power over the people they govern.  We cannot depend on Washington to relinquish this power.  This is why the founders of our nation created the article 5 option in the Constitution.  (5)

We must:

1)      Contact Congress this week urging them not to pass any omnibus spending bill and instead pass a temporary resolution giving the incoming Congress the opportunity to pass a fiscally responsible spending bill

2)      Propose legislation or even an amendment changing the fiscal year to coincide with the swearing in of the new Congress and President

3)      Begin the process of passing a balanced budget amendment and super majority requirement for tax increases.

This is a call to action for all of my fellow political avengers.  There is a link to the right of this posting where we can contact our representatives, senators, and the White House urging them to not pass or sign an omnibus spending bill.  We then must contact our state legislatures to begin the process outlined in article five of the Constitution.  (5).  Time to light up the phone lines and email servers letting them know that we are not going to put up with irresponsible government spending anymore. 

1. google.com. Om-ni-bus. www.google.com. [Online] Google. [Cited: December 6, 2014.] https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+of+omnibus&rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS440US481&oq=definition+of+omnibus&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.7076j0j8&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8.

2. Sargent, Michael. Since Obama Took Office, the Federal Debt Has Increased by Almost 70 Percent. dailysignal.com. [Online] The Daily Signal, December 3, 2014. [Cited: December 6, 2014.] http://dailysignal.com/2014/12/03/since-obama-took-office-federal-debt-increased-almost-70-percent/.

3. Tanner, Michael. The 2014 Tax Revolt. www.nationalreview.com. [Online] The National Review, November 19, 2014. [Cited: December 6, 2014.] http://www.nationalreview.com/article/392955/2014-tax-revolt-michael-tanner.

4. Giokaris, John. 2014 Midterm Elections Predictions Prove Pundits Don't Know Math. mic.com. [Online] Policy Mic, October 22, 2013. [Cited: December 6, 2014.] http://mic.com/articles/69319/2014-midterm-elections-predictions-prove-pundits-don-t-know-math.

5. Hillsdale College. The Constitution of the United States of America. [book auth.] Hillsdale College. The U.S. Constitution: A Reader. Hillsdale MI : Hillsdale College Press, 2012.