On Thursday the House of Representatives approved the last ever federal spending bill based upon an Obama-era budget. The bipartisan omnibus appropriations bill will keep the government running through September 30, 2017.
“My constituents are fed up with massive, must-pass bills that spend too much of their hard-earned money on too many things the federal government has no business being involved in,” said Congressman John Shimkus (R, Illinois-15). “But as President Trumptweeted this week, ‘the reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there!’”
Shimkus said the situation would be different this fall.
“This is 2017 stuff we had to deal with,” he said. “It’s the backlog of spending bills from the previous administration. With all that finally behind us, Congress can now take up the first budget based upon President Trump’s priorities, and we can get to work on the 12 individual spending bills for the 2018 fiscal year that begins October 1. That open, transparent, and deliberative process is where we get our leverage.”
President Trump is expected to sign the omnibus spending bill later this week, officially turning the page on Obama-era spending.
A summary of the FY17 Consolidated Omnibus Appropriations Act is available HERE.
