For the last four months, the government has been operating at last years spending levels and essentially no one in the country has noticed or even cares.  That is all about to end.  The House voted 338 – 83, and the Senate voted 76 – 20, to approve the mammoth Omnibus Spending Bill, which President Bush signed into law last week.  The pork laden bill appropriates just under $400 billion for spending in 2003.

A look back at 2002 shows some enormous numbers.  Defense spending topped $330 billion.  Social Security and Medicare topped $700 billion.  Medicaid spending came in at just under $150 billion.  Unemployment insurance at $55 billion. Other programs (pork) totaled $594 billion and interest on public debt came to $179 billion. 

Taxpayers can now look forward to forking out even more pork following the passage of this monstrosity.  On the surface, the Omnibus Bill looks fairly conservative, but in typical Washington fashion, a more indepth look shows the Bill’s true colors.

Hidden amongst the verbiage of the Omnibus package are such things as $6.1 million to go to the Utah Mitigation and Conservation Account.  Don’t ask me what that is, because I have no idea. More Utah pork includes $68.76 million for the University Light Rail system and $12 million for the Medical Center Light Rail Extension.  I have nothing against the great state of Utah, but why is the Federal Government funding items that are the responsibility of the state?

Now don’t get me wrong, Utah is not the only recipient of such extravagancies.  Oregon receives $1 billion for a Community Learning Center.  The key word here being “community”.  In all, the 3000 page Omnibus monstrosity contains over 900 earmarks for Community Development Projects.  The failed war on poverty continues with HUD receiving $31.2 billion for Section 8 housing.

Montana is receiving $1 million for the study of bear DNA.  Do we really need to study bear DNA? Washington state gets $280,000 for asparagus technology and production.  I don’t even like asparagus!  $1 million is going to God knows where for the National Agricultural-Based Industrial Lubricants Center.  Shouldn’t the Agricultural-Based Industrial Lubricants Industry fund its own damned center?  Of course, master porker, Bob Byrd of WV was not to be left out of the mix.  He secured for his state such things as $3 million for an award to the National Technology Transfer Center for a coal slurry impounding pilot project.  Byrd droppings also reaped $150,000 for a new office space.  What was wrong with Sen. Byrd’s old office space?

Mississippi receives a cool $1 million for an Automated Nursery Project.  It seems to me, the nursery industry is doing just fine all by itself.  Alaska receives $631,000 for research into alternative salmon products.  I’m already planning to be the first person in my town to don a pair of salmon skin boots.  $250,000 is going to an undisclosed location to research interactions between grapefruit juice and drugs!  I’m not making this stuff up, folks!

Lubbock, TX receives $450,000 for the capital needs of the Lubbock Amphitheatre.  Can’t the City of Lubbock talk Coach Knight into doing a fundraiser?  $900,000 goes to the renovation of the El Paso Theater.  Is the theater is not profitable enough to pay for its own renovation, why renovate it?

Even American sporting events managed to grab a piece of this enormous pie. $450,000 goes to the National Soccer Program Development Initiative. $90,000 for remodeling the Sammy Burke Youth Boxing Center and for a motor vehicle to serve the Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  $750,000 for the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Now I’ve been to the baseball Hall of Fame and they charge admission.  Why do they need government funding?  They’ve got players making $10 million a year and they need government funding!  Halls of Fame seem to be a pet project with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame receiving $350,000 and the Cowgirl Hall of Fame (never even heard of that one) receiving $90,000.

And remember all the hoopla about the necessity to raise postage last year?  How many billions of dollars in debt is our postal system?  Well, doesn’t matter.  The postal workers are still getting a 4.1% blanket raise.  In the real world, the world of real people, when your employer is losing money on an annual basis, you get laid off.  Work for the post office, and you get a raise. Oh, it’s not just postal workers.  The Omnibus Bill includes money for a blanket raise of 4.1% for all federal employees. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg of this bill. For more information on the earmarks of this catastrophe, the good folks at Citizens Against Government Waste have put together a fine report.

Last November, the voters spoke loud and clear.  The message was sent that it was time for a definitive change in our government and we, the voters, rallied together to give the republicans control of the bicameral congress. The passage of this bill sets the precedent that we are facing the largest government growth since the Carter administration.  I don’t know what the President has in mind, but this is not the direction the Republicans in Washington need to be taking.  Somebody’s got some ‘splainin to do.