Democrat’s Refuse To Fund Wall But Offer Up A Staggering $12 Billion More For Foreign Aid In Spending Bill
Politics 26
The House Democrats have proposed spending bills in order to bring an end to the partial federal government shutdown.
However, it was reported by Breitbart News that the bills offered no finding for President Donald Trump’s coveted wall along the United States’ southern border. According to a Thursday statement from the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Democrats did, however, include more than $12 billion for foreign aid over what the White House had requested.
Breitbart reports, “The statement warned the new House Democrat majority of President Trump’s intention to veto the bills, noting that the administration ‘cannot accept legislation that provides unnecessary funding for wasteful programs while ignoring the Nation’s urgent border security needs.’”
Breitbart explains, “The statement reiterated President Trump’s request for ‘at least $5 billion for border security’ and asserted that the Democrats’ proposal ‘does not come close to providing these necessary investments and authorities.’”
The Trump administration reminded that the billions of dollars that the Democrats have offered up for “unnecessary programs at excessive levels” is far more than what they had requested. According to Breitbart, this includes:
-$12 billion more for “international affairs programs,” including $2.9 billion more “for economic and development assistance, including funding for the West Bank/Gaza, Syria, and Pakistan, where our foreign aid is either frozen or under review.”
-$700 million more than requested for the United Nations, including restored funding for the United Nation’s Population Fund, which would undermine the administration’s Mexico City Policy that bars the use of taxpayer dollars for foreign organizations that “promote or perform abortions.”
-Approximately $2 billion more than requested for the Environmental Protection Agency
-$7.1 billion more than the administration requested for Housing and Urban Development programs
The statement regarding the House Democrats’ additional funding goes as follows:
The six bills provided for under H.R. 21 provide funding at levels nearly 20 percent higher than the President’s FY 2019 Budget. For instance, H.R. 21 provides $12 billion more for international affairs programs, 29 percent higher than the President’s request. This includes $2.9 billion more than the request for economic and development assistance, including funding for the West Bank/Gaza, Syria, and Pakistan, where our foreign aid is either frozen or under review. It includes $700 million more than requested for the United Nations, including restoring funding for the United Nations Population Fund. The bill would also undermine the President’s Mexico City Policy (Presidential Memorandum of January 23, 2017), which prohibits the funding of foreign nongovernmental organizations that promote or perform abortions. Further, H.R. 21 includes approximately $2 billion in excessive Environmental Protection Agency funding, providing funds beyond the Agency’s core mission and including funding for programs that can and should be executed at the local level. The bill also includes substantial unrequested funding for HUD programs, including $7.1 billion above the FY 2019 Budget request for HUD rental assistance programs. These and other excessive spending items makes the lack of adequate border funding in the combined package all the more unacceptable.
“The administration looks forward to working with the Congress to enact appropriations that will adequately secure the Nation’s borders and get the federal government back to work for the American people as soon as possible,” the statement finished off.
UPDATE:
On Thursday evening, the Democrat spending bills passed the House.
The first bill is a continuing resolution in order to fund DHS until February 8. It passed by 239-192. The bill is meant to “keep border security funding at $1.3 billion, providing no new funding for the barrier along the southern border,” as reported by the Hill. The second bill is meant to fund the other six agencies through September of this year. It passed by 241-190.
https://www.americanjournalreview.com/democra...ding-bill/
