Tonight Congress finally passed the Omnibus spending bill. While there will be many things that progressives will not like in the bill there are some wonderful things which are included and that needs to be celebrated.
DECEMBER 2016
By December 2016, I had come to the conclusion that with the Republicans controlling the House, Senate and Presidency most of my cherished governmental programs were going to be destroyed. This was not based on irrational fear but was based on the Republicans continuous assault, assisted and lauded by Trump, on the following programs:
- Corporation for National and Community Service
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Legal Services Corporation
- Head Start
- National Endowment for the Arts
- National Endowment for the Humanities
etc. For a complete list please see the cited cnn article written on March 16, 2017.
www.cnn.com/…
Many of these are and were the top targets of the Heritage Foundation. www.salon.com/… In the linked Salon article it was reported that the Trump transition team was planning to cut out 10.5 trillion out of the federal government budget. Based on the Heritage Foundations recommendations cuts to programs to protect women against domestic violence, NEA, NEH, Corp for Public Broadcasting, Legal Services Corp were to be first on the chopping block.
NOW FAST FORWARD SIXTEEN MONTHS
Congress today just passed a bill that has not only not eliminated these programs, but rather many of these programs have actually had their budgets increased. As a New York Times article puts it:
In dividing up the spoils of that budget agreement, Congress rebuked the Trump administration’s initial vision for the federal government in many ways. The president’s desire to drastically cut spending on the environment was rebuffed. Programs like the National Endowment for the Arts and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, far from being eliminated, were spared any reductions. Not only did the administration’s request for deep cuts to the National Institutes of Health go nowhere, but Congress gave the agency an additional $3 billion.
The spending bill “repudiates the abysmal Trump budget, investing robustly in critical priorities like child care, transportation infrastructure, national security, election protection, medical research, opioid abuse prevention and treatment, veterans’ health services and much more,” said Representative Nita M. Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.www.nytimes.com/...
In another New York Times article, amusingly titled, “Spending Plan Passed by Congress Is a Rebuke to Trump. Here’s Why”, Julie Davis writes: (Note this article was significantly redacted so as to not violate copyright laws — please read the great article in full).
The $1.3 trillion spending plan passed early Friday by Congress delivered a broad rebuke to President Trump’s vision for shaking up government, ignoring many of his ideas for cutting domestic programs and, in some cases, expressly barring him from accomplishing his goals….
Betsy DeVos was snubbed.
The measure bars funding for some school choice measures, including private school vouchers, a signature issue for Betsy DeVos, Mr. Trump’s education secretary. And the bill rejected Ms. DeVos’s efforts to shrink her department’s spending; it increased the education budget by $3.9 billion.…
Environmental activists say they fought to a draw.
The Environmental Protection Agency was one of the few parts of the government that did not receive a substantial spending bump in the package, but the measure kept funding for the agency essentially flat at $8.1 billion, rejecting the 30 percent cut sought by Mr. Trump and Scott Pruitt, the administrator. Activists saw that as a victory….
Federal programs that had been slated for extinction were preserved.
In his budget blueprint for 2018, Mr. Trump proposed defunding the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Instead, Congress provided $153 million for each agency, an increase of $3 million in each case over 2017.
Lawmakers also rebuffed Mr. Trump’s proposal to eliminate funds for the popular Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, providing $3.6 billion, an increase of $250 million over 2017…
Public housing programs were spared.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development received a $4.7 billion overall funding boost, instead of the $6 billion reduction the president sought.
www.nytimes.com/...
The Legal Services Corporation which has long been a target of Trump was not cut, in fact its budget was increased so as to provide additional funds to help legal assistance programs targeting emergency assistance to hurricane victims etc.
This budget has also given funds to protect our elections, a minor fix to gun laws and other good programs.
Nancy Pelosi had this to say about the bill:
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the bill “a tremendous victory for the American people,” one that keeps domestic agencies robustly funded while turning away Trump’s push for even more money for the border wall and immigration enforcement. www.washingtonpost.com/...
So the question has to be asked. Why? Why was so much of these programs left untouched or even increased. The reason I think is because of the resistance, OUR RESISTANCE. While the Freedom Caucus and the Heritage Foundation has constantly fought to pull our country further and further to the right, the resistance has been an even stronger force pulling the nation’s conscience to the left. Congress knows that there is a Blue Tide coming for it in November, this budget is the result of that fear.
So, to all of you who has fought the good fight, thank you. Sixteen months ago I was afraid that legal aid to the poor was going to be destroyed, that my son wouldn’t grow up with PBS, that my neighbor kids wouldn’t get to use Head Start and that many other vital programs would be destroyed. But that has not happened. Instead, the programs have survived and in fact some have an even larger budget. I am not saying that all is rosy. We still have the nightmare of the DACA situation; a President intent on getting us involved in another war; BUT for tonight and tomorrow take a moment to smile and take comfort by what has been achieved and preserved. Then get back to the fight and focus on getting everyone to the polls in November so this Nightmare can truly be over.