On 12/20/2022, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) was joined by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), , Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in a press conference to oppose the $1.7 trillion, 4K+ page omnibus spending bill. Senator Lee said, “4155 pages long just put this in perspective for a minute. I speak on average uh about 120 words per minute when I speak on the senate floor. I don’t know whether that’s something to be proud of or or not. I don’t know how that stacks up to others but that’s the rate at which I typically speak on the senate floor. At that pace it would take me five straight days and by days I don’t mean eight hour work days or 10 or 12 hour work days I mean 24-hour work days five straight 24-hour periods consecutively back to back without so much as a bathroom break and certainly no opportunity for sleeping nothing other than reading take five straight consecutive days of continuous reading at that pace in order to get through this.”
Sen. Lee discussed the length of the omnibus bill and compared it to reading the Bible, noting that it was “4,155 pages long.” Lee said, “The Bible is a long book and it’s 1,200 pages long. And so going through this, reading through this, which the Bible is actually interesting and full of stories that you can follow….”
On 12/20/2022, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said, “There are, let me get the exact numbers, 9.8 billion dollars worth of earmarks. Thousands of individual projects here, both Democrat and Republican. It is interesting to note on the Republican side, we actually have a conference resolution that we don’t support earmarks. Well, we’re supporting over 4 billion dollars worth. Democrats are getting 5.4 billion dollars worth of earmarks. This is the gateway drug to the massive deficit spending, to the mortgaging of our children’s futures. It has to stop, which is why I’m going to offer an amendment to eliminate all those earmarks in this massive omnibus spending bill,” the senator argued.
On 12/20/2022, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., found himself getting pressed on whether he was overseeing a “functional process” to pass a massive federal government funding bill. “How is it a functional process to drop a 4,100 page bill this morning and expect a vote on it tomorrow?” CNN’s Manu Raju asked. “Most of Congress hasn’t had a chance to review this.” Schumer replied that “most” of the provisions were already known in advance.
Senator Rand Paul said, “I brought along the 1.7 trillion, 4,000+ page Pelosi-Schumer omnibus spending bill that’s being fast-tracked through the Senate. This process stinks. It’s an abomination. It’s a no good rotten way to run government. We’re standing up and saying NO.”
On 12/19/2022, Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the agents and officials in El Paso, Texas, becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the surge in migrations and the lack of resources to assist them. Heinrich asked Jean-Pierre, “A little bit to Ed’s question, though: You know, this push from the podium to get Republicans to send more resources to the border — a lot of them say that, you know, they hesitate to throw more money at a problem when the Homeland Security Secretary is saying that the border is secure. And some of the people who would have to vote on that bill also don’t have a lot of details on, you know, what’s in it and where that money goes. But that — all that aside, you know, if you’re saying that Republicans aren’t doing the work to get this done, and then you have someone like Joe Manchin saying, well, the President has the ability to ask for an extension; he should be asking for an extension because we’re at this point where you’ve got a deadline and a crisis — is that within the President’s authority to do that?”
KJP: So, look, we remain — we’re — we remain under a court order to lift Title 42. That is a court order.
Heinrich: Aren’t you guys driving it though?
KJP: That is — that is a court order that is telling us to lift Title 42. And we’re going to comply because we follow the rule of law. That is —
Heinrich: But the administration sought to lift it.
KJP: That is — but it is a court order. That is —
Heinrich: Started by you guys.
KJP: It was a court order that has been provided to us, and so now we have to comply. And that is — we have to comply by December 21st. It is — it is a law that has been —
Heinrich: So you’re saying you don’t support lifting Title 42? Or —
KJP: What I’m saying is that — I — what I’m saying — that it is a court order that has been presented to us that we are going to comply with. So you’ve asked a couple of questions, and I’m going to answer them if you give me a second.
https://facebook.com/HygoNewsUSA/videos/697897698568356/
HYGONews Week’s Most Popular Stories 12/26; $1.7T Omnibus spending bill, Title 42