$1.7 Trillion Omnibus Bill Passes The Senate With Outrageous Hidden Earmarks

On Thursday, the Senate passed a $1.7 trillion omnibus bill, which will fund the federal government through September.

The bill includes $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and 47.5 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The bill also includes a 16.5% funding boost for the legislative branch, an increase of $975 million from last year, and increases for every single federal entity. It also includes more than $15 billion in earmarks.

Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) tweeted out a series of some of the most egregious spending hidden in the giant bill, which, he said, his team was still reading.

Bishop highlighted a clause in the bill that expressly prohibits CBP funding from being used to improve border security. The clause states that none of the funds provided in subsection (a)(1) could be used to “acquire, maintain or extend border security technology and capabilities, except for technology and capabilities used to improve Border Patrol processing.”

However, the bill does provide $410 million for border security for Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman and $1,438,000,000 for membership in global multilateral organizations, including the UN.

Bishop also posted a screenshot of a provision for $65 million for Salmon Fisheries with the caption, “$65 million for Salmon? Sounds fishy.”

Another $3 million is provided in the bill for “Pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highways,” which the North Carolina representative wittily referred to as “a buzzkill.”

Bishop highlighted at least $575 million for “family planning” in areas where population growth “threatens biodiversity,” commenting, “Malthusianism is a disturbing, anti-human ideology that should have ZERO place in any federal program.”

Other outrageous earmark spending highlighted by Bishop included $65 million in two programs for Senator Leahy and a federal building named for Nancy Pelosi, $3.6 million for the “Michelle Obama Trail,” $477k for “antiracist” training from the Equity Institute, $3 million for the LGBTQ+ museum in NYC and $1.2 million in “services for DACA recipients.”

The bill also authorizes a “Ukrainian Independence Park” in DC and monuments for journalists and service animals.

Other spending includes gender programs in Pakistan, $200 million for a Gender Equity Fund, $7.5 million to better understand the “domestic radicalization phenomenon,” $1 million for gun violence research, $286 million in Title X funding, which funds Planned Parenthood, $750k for the “TransLatin Coalition,” and $400k for the “Racial Justice Improvement Project.”

$335,000,000 has been allotted to prepare for an influenza pandemic, including the use of “surveillance tools.”

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR