Washington, D.C. – Last night, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) voted against the proposed $1.5 trillion Omnibus spending package. The text of the 2741-page bill was only sent to Members in the early hours of the day before. Members of Congress were previously given an outline of the bill, but not made aware of the specific items or total spending in the legislation. Republicans successfully forced a separate vote on a negotiated Ukraine aid package and the U.S. defense portion of the bill. LaMalfa voted in favor of the separate defense and aid package while opposing the larger spending bill.
Rep LaMalfa said:
“Taxpayers cannot afford for Congress to keep spending at record levels. Last night’s bill is the largest annual spending bill ever, and we were given less than 24 hours to read the 2741 pages. The spending bill continues the COVID-19 State of Emergency declaration and forces federal agencies to spend billions in borrowed dollars on green new deal programs. There are many individual pieces which I do support and would have in a more responsibly crafted bill. I am greatly concerned with the price to taxpayers and the poor priorities of much of the spending in these very difficult times. I cannot support a plan that continues to spend at such an unsustainable level. Our national debt now exceeds $30.2 trillion.”
A related, but separate vote contained limited funding for our national defense, military and humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine, as well as funding for missile defense.
“Our national defense is a constitutional imperative. I am happy Republicans forced a separate vote to ensure that our nation has the tools to defend ourselves. In the past year the world has become increasingly dangerous with Russian aggression in Europe, a botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, cyber-attacks on American infrastructure projects, and continued Chinese threats - we need to be prepared. Last night’s vote ensures we have the funding for the tools needed to defend our nation and protect our allies.”
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.
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