Desperate Congressional Democrats and fool-hardy Republicans who have been shown the door for the 112th Congress are considering a 2,000 page pork-filled omnibus measure to ram through spending they haven’t been able to secure this Congress. The bill amounts to a political wish list for big spenders who see the “Cromnibus” as the last possible vehicle to shuttle political kickbacks and sweetheart spending.

“This is an attempt by Democrats and corrupt Republicans to spend everything that isn’t nailed down before they are thrown out of Congress,” Said Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist. “Some said voters were unfair to Senator Bennett and his ilk who were tossed out this election cycle for their support of big government and excessive spending. A vote for this Cromnibus package shows the voters were right— taxpayers can’t trust lawmakers whose support for spending can be bought off with pork. In a courtroom this would be an admissible confession of criminal guilt.”

• The Cromnibus includes almost 7,000 earmarks, many of which will go to building or sustaining Congressional “Monuments to Me.” This includes $18 million for non-profits dedicated to deceased lawmakers and $6 million for an Iowa school program named for Sen. Tom Harkin
   
• This amounts to over $8 billion in earmarked spending. Of this, many are for projects that have been rejected or unwanted, like the $450 million included for the Joint Strike Fighter alternative engine program for which the Pentagon has not requested funding for four years but still receives Congressional authorization
   
• Being in charge has a sweet payoff – Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) included $21 million for his home state’s health care system while retirement also has its perks – rejected Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah) has over $10 million in transportation funding tucked into the bill
   
• The Cromnibus was filed four days before current government funding expires. At nearly 2,000 pages, the majority is ensuring no one will have time to read the bill before forcing a vote on it
   
• In total, the Cromnibus authorizes almost $1.3 trillion in spending.

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Posted by Mattie Duppler on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 4:13 PM EST

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