The House passed the Conference Report on H.R. 2055, a massive spending package comprised of the nine remaining appropriations packages needed to fund the federal government for the 2012 fiscal year. Those nine packages were defense, energy/water, financial services, homeland security, interior/environment, labor/HHS/education, legislative branch, military construction/VA, and State/foreign operations. The ‘megabus,’ as it has become known in the media, had initially been held up by Senate Democrats who refused to sign the conference report in an effort to force House Republicans to raise taxes on small business owners in a different bill. House and Senate leaders were able to negotiate a deal before the continuing resolution currently being used to fund the government ran out. The package set discretionary spending levels at $1.043 trillion, $24 billion higher than the House Republican budget passed earlier this year. Westmoreland opposed the legislation.
“I think House Republicans have done a good job of changing the conversation about the way Washington spends money. Last year, Congressional Democrats and the White House could only talk about more spending and more bailouts. However, since Republicans took back the House this year, we have cut federal spending for two consecutive years. Unfortunately, this legislation simply did not cut enough for me to support it.
“I made a promise to my constituents that I would rein in federal spending and work towards paying down our more than $15 trillion national debt. Earlier this year, the House passed a budget that would do just that. Instead of sticking to our guns, we bowed down to Senate Democrats who continue to get in the way of our every effort to get this country back on a path of fiscal responsibility. They want to keep up the out-of-control spending in Washington and pay for it with even higher taxes on American small businesses – the driving force for job creation in the country. That’s why we ended up with this $1.043 trillion monstrosity ‘megabus’ appropriations bill that I could not support,” stated Westmoreland.
