Republicans have grave concerns about a massive spending bill released early Wednesday, an internal messaging document obtained by The Daily Wire shows.
The 2,741 page omnibus bill would provide $1.5 billion in discretionary spending that includes $730 billion in non-defense discretionary funding, according to an internal Republican Study Committee bulletin.
That $730 billion in non-defense discretionary funding is a $46 billion of 6.7% increase over the fiscal year 2021, according to the messaging document, and a $782 billion in defense discretionary funding is an increase of $42 billion of 5.6% over the fiscal year 2021.
These figures were kept secret until the release of the bill, the internal document said, suggesting that conservatives feel deprived of a voice in the negotiating process.
Since the massive spending bill was only released early Wednesday morning — just 12 hours prior to a vote — Republican staffers are still combing through the document to make sure lawmakers are well aware of what it entails.
#SWAMPSPENDING THREAD: 1) We were sent vote times & “Omnibus” spending bill at 230AM. 2) It is 2700 pages & we vote at 1000AM. 4) Top-line spending appears to be $1.512 Trillion. 3) We are told it is a 6% increase year-over-year, NOT counting Ukraine or COVID Supp… (1/6)
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) March 9, 2022
The messaging document also notes that the timeline of the bill’s release clearly violates the House’s three day rule on releasing legislation.
“No new funding for border wall construction,” the document says. “No additional funding for ICE agents. No additional funding to support Remain in Mexico policy. Decreases funding for CBP!”
The omnibus spending bill allocates over “$100 billion on GND [Green New Deal] initiatives total,” according to the document, including to “climate change funding and provisions to “advance racial justice” through the Department of Agriculture.”
Instead of doing something to lower RECORD high gas prices, Dems’ omnibus spends $100 BILLION on their Green New Deal agenda.
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) March 9, 2022
The bill also allocates $100 million for environmental justice activities at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, $75 million for low or no emission vehicle grants, funds towards a renewable energy program at the Department of Energy, and Department of Energy policies promoting environmental justice.
It also would mean the “largest IRS funding boost in two decades with increase money for enforcement” and includes “over $26 billion in food stamp funding.”
“Because the Biden economy is so great,” the messaging document adds.
The Republican Study Committee document also notes that the bill would provide $286.5 million in funding to Title X family planning services that could be distributed to Planned Parenthood.
Former President Donald Trump’s administration had stripped family planning clinics that refer women for abortions of their Title X funding, but Biden revoked that rule in the first year of his presidency. The Biden administration rule, which went into effect in November, allows Title X federal family planning funds to go to health centers which refer patients for abortions.
The omnibus spending bill does not include protections from Chinese espionage in grants to the National Science Foundation, the memo says, and it increases NIH funding by ~10%.
“A massive jump—Biden is thanking Fauci,” the memo says, noting that “the bill would not bar funding for gain of function research by a foreign adversary, including China Russia, Iran, and North Korea, or gain of funding research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
The omnibus bill would reportedly provide a total of $66 million for Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) which is an increase of $8 million over the enacted fiscal year 2021 levels, according to the messaging document.