It is September 2023. Our government is funded through the end of the month. The Republican rebels have made it clear that they are opposed to the practice of unlimited funding of the government with no practical way of paying for it. Changes wrought during the battle for the speakership state that there will be specific appropriations bills as had been done prior to 2008. No longer will there be an omnibus bill of thousands of pages that serve as graft for the evil people who feed at the public trough.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), one of the 15 rebels, is standing up for the American people. Norman has made it clear that he will only support substantive changes that put the country back on a path toward fiscal sanity.
Rep. Norman notes:
It’s time to reiterate what I’ve been saying for quite a while. September is going to be a total mess in Congress for one reason, and one reason only:
Because for decades, elected leaders in Washington have racked up almost $33 TRILLION in national debt. You and I will not be alive to pay this back. The “borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7), but it’s our children and grandchildren who will be on the hook to pay back the massive debts we have put upon them. What immorality and shame on our part to have done this!
Our deficit spending this fiscal year alone is approaching $2 trillion. (That’s how much more we spent vs. collected in tax revenue. We can’t even tax an additional $2 trillion without destroying our economy!) The only solution is to reduce federal spending and eliminate the countless billions on ridiculous, useless, inappropriate projects that we cannot afford and do not need!
Rep. Norman is right over the target here. There needs to be a balance between income and expenses. Because of the reckless spending authorized last December, a second surge of inflation is starting. Anyone who runs their household budget the way our government does its budget, soon finds themselves out on the streets. Reckoning for our government’s profligate spending is coming.
Norman goes on:
Most of you know this, but the federal government is only funded through September 30th. Prior to that date, Congress is supposed to pass legislation that funds the various federal agencies beyond September 30th. And to nobody’s surprise, leadership on both sides have run us right up to the deadline and are now claiming we need to pass a temporary spending measure to buy more time.
I don’t know how this process will play out, but I can tell you I am not voting for the status quo. I don’t care about re-election. I don’t care what the liberal media claims. I am not putting my head in the sand on this issue, and I simply will not support any appropriations bill that doesn’t contain meaningful, responsible spending reductions to keep us on a trajectory to balance the budget within the next 9-10 years.
We absolutely do not need another “temporary” spending bill. The agreement from the speakership battle included the need for responsible spending bills. Is Kevin McCarthy going to renege on his deal with the rebels?
You’re going to hear all sorts of news reports in the coming weeks about how conservatives like me would rather trigger a shutdown of NON-ESSENTIAL services rather than go along with the Washington establishment and continue to spend ourselves into oblivion. But here’s the reality:
Nobody wants a shutdown, but it’s the Washington establishment who would induce a government shutdown – and all the pain that entails – rather than do the responsible thing and curb our out-of-control spending. It’s conservatives like me who are the only ones willing to stand opposed to their cowardly, reckless behavior.
I will be very surprised if Big Media and the Democrats do not accuse the Republicans of literally killing people. None of such caterwauling will be true. However, that will not stop the evil people who inhabit the DC Beltway from saying such things. Hang onto your hats. It is going to be a rough ride.