While a government shutdown is the last thing we need, we also can’t afford anymore reckless spending. Give our legislators wisdom, God!

From The Federalist. More than a dozen House Republicans are demanding their Senate colleagues oppose a wasteful omnibus spending package that would fund the federal government for next year — or risk facing legislative gridlock once the party takes control of the House in January.

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In a letter sent to Senate Republicans on Monday, 13 GOP representatives called on the upper chamber to reject the proposed omnibus spending bill, noting that the American people didn’t elect Republicans “to continue the status quo in Washington,” but to “put aside the absurd spending and empowerment of Biden bureaucrats.”

“This slated ‘omnibus spending bill’ is an indefensible assault on the American people,” the letter reads. “It is an assault on separation of powers. It is an assault on fiscal responsibility. It is an assault on basic civic decency. And a vote for any omnibus in the remaining days of a Democrat led government is a vote in favor of that assault.”

If Congress passes the spending package, it would fund the federal government through 2023, undercutting any leverage a new Republican House majority would have over spending priorities until the end of next year. As a means of encouraging Senate Republicans to vote against the measure, the 13 GOP representatives further warned that once in power, they will not hesitate to “oppose and whip opposition to any legislative priority of those senators who vote for this bill — including the Republican leader [Mitch McConnell].” …

Among the letter’s signatories are Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Matt Rosendale of Montana, Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds of Florida, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Bob Good of Virginia, and Andrew Clyde of Georgia, as well as Rep.-elects Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, and Eli Crane of Arizona. …

From Roll Call. The Senate took its first step Tuesday toward passing a nearly $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package needed before Christmas Eve to avert a partial government shutdown.

Senators voted 70-25 to adopt the motion to proceed to a shell bill for the long-awaited measure, a 4,155-page behemoth that encompasses the dozen annual spending bills for every federal agency, plus supplemental aid for the war in Ukraine and natural disaster victims.

It also includes an extensive set of unrelated policies such as horse-racing industry rules and a TikTok ban on government-issued devices.

The bill’s overall price tag, which awaits an official score from the Congressional Budget Office, includes roughly $85 billion in emergency supplemental spending on top of the roughly $1.65 trillion in regular, overdue appropriations for the fiscal year that began in October.

Leaders are hoping all 100 senators will agree to speed up the normal legislative clock because under regular order, final passage wouldn’t occur until Friday, when the current continuing resolution that keeps the government’s lights on expires. But some conservative Republicans declined to say Tuesday whether they would consent to a time agreement. …

“Between now and the end of the week, the watchwords for the Senate will be speed and cooperation,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said in floor remarks Tuesday morning. “I hope nobody here will stand in the way from funding the government ASAP.”

Priorities in and out

Missing from the omnibus was one of Schumer’s key priorities: legislation that would close a $3 billion shortfall in the World Trade Center Health Program, which pays for medical bills and monitoring of those injured in the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “blocked a lot of things, things I care about, like 9/11 health,” Schumer said in his weekly press conference. “He just said ‘no’ at the end.”

The Biden administration urged “swift passage” of the omnibus measure in a statement that highlighted its priorities, including health research funding for cancer and other diseases, aid to Ukraine, assistance for veterans, funds to help communities recover from natural disasters and prevent crime and investments in child care, education and more.

The final numbers include $858 billion in defense-related spending, a nearly 10 percent, or $76 billion, increase over the previous fiscal year, which Republicans celebrated. That figure includes a 4.6 percent pay raise for military servicemembers and Pentagon civilian employees.

Both parties praised the inclusion of nearly $119 billion for veterans medical care, a 22 percent increase over fiscal 2022, not counting a $5 billion infusion for the toxic exposure benefits law enacted over the summer.

The remainder of the regular nondefense spending total was a moving target, however; each party was using different numbers to describe it more favorably to their side.

Senate Republicans claimed to have held nondefense funds outside of VA medical care to $668 billion, a below-inflation increase of 5.5 percent. House Democrats, however, in their own tally added about $13 billion to the topline, which would give nondefense programs excluding veterans health a 7.6 percent boost, which is above the current inflation rate. …

Possible amendments 

If a time agreement were to come together, it would involve giving conservatives amendment votes they want to use to illustrate their concerns about the omnibus package.

Paul said he plans to raise a procedural objection through a budget point of order that claims the omnibus violates pay-as-you-go rules requiring new spending to be offset. He also wants an amendment that would require a two-thirds vote to override pay-as-you-go rules, as the omnibus does for spending that Democrats approved in their party-line pandemic aid and climate, tax and health laws.

Johnson said he is pushing an amendment to strip earmarks from the bill, which total roughly $15 billion. According to Braun, Lee wants a vote on extending the continuing resolution into early next year, although a vote to do that was defeated soundly last week on the current continuing resolution. …

A bipartisan amendment to offer a path to permanent residency for certain Afghan evacuees may also be on the table. Thousands of Afghans were evacuated last year following the U.S. withdrawal and have been living with a temporary immigration status that does not lead to citizenship. …

If an agreement on amendments is secured, the Senate could take a final vote on the omnibus as early as Wednesday night, several senators said. …

What do you think of this omnibus spending package? Share your thoughts and prayers below.

(Excerpts from The Federalist and Roll Call. Photo Credit: Getty Images)