Reject the Omnibus Appropriations Bill

Floor Speech

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, when the Obama administration was faced with a massive omnibus in January of 2009, the President stated that he had to sign it because this is simply last year's business that he had no part of. Well, he's going to face another omnibus this year. This was all done under his watch by the Congress. It's not his fault, but he has a veto pen and he should use it.

This omnibus that's going to come to the President is going to contain more than 6,000 earmarks for things like a couple of hundred thousand that was mentioned for maple syrup research or $500,000 for biodiesel research from sewage-based biodiesel and thousands and thousands of other earmarks like this.

The President recently said: I agree with those Republican and Democrat Members of Congress who have recently said that, in these challenging days, we simply can't afford what are called earmarks.

Well, Mr. President, please make good on that statement. Veto this omnibus bill coming. Better yet, convince your colleagues in the House and the Senate to reject it before it comes to the floor.

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