WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Both members of Idaho's U.S. Senate delegation on Thursday voted against the $1.7 trillion spending bill that finances federal agencies through September and provides another large round of aid to Ukraine.
The bill runs 4,155 pages and appropriates about $772.5 billion for domestic programs and $858 billion for defense. It goes to the U.S. House for a final vote after passing in the Senate by a vote of 68-29.
All 29 senators who voted against the bill are Republicans. Among them were Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch of Idaho. After Thursday's vote, the offices of both senators issued statements critical of many provisions of the bill.
"Instead of moving forward with individual spending bills to allow members of Congress to separate good policy from bad, we are once again having to vote on a single bill that will unfortunately add to our unsustainable debt crisis," Sen. Crapo said. "The omnibus appropriations package contains some good policies I have supported and championed, like robust support for our servicemembers and their missions, and support for homeless veterans. It also includes legislation I authored as the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, including important legislation to strengthen retirement savings and improve federal health programs."
However, Crapo goes on to say the provisions he supported were combined with "dozens of other provisions that likely would not have passed on their own, from Green New Deal Style handouts to wasteful pet projects."
In his statement, Sen. Risch said the bill "fullfills 98 percent of Democratic member requests and includes $5 billion for over 3,200 liberal pet projects." Risch's statement singles out a few of those projects with this bullet-point list:
- "Over $800 million for housing for illegal immigrants"
- "$2 million for a wax museum in Baltimore"
- "$750,000 to provide 'workforce development programs and supportive services for Transgender and Gender nonconforming and Intersex (TGI) immigrant women in Los Angeles'"
- "$3.6 million for a Michelle Obama trail in Georgia"
- "Preventative language to ensure no funding for Customs and Border Protection is used to improve border security"
Crapo's statement also mentions provisions he supported but were left out: "widely supported trade priorities and critical business tax incentives, particularly R&D (research and development) tax credits that incentivize innovation and growth."
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