Republicans have been getting really bad press for their hesitancy and silence around Donald Trump’s expensive secret baby jails and tent cities to jail other children. The president sent the captured young girls across the country via an airline, calling them a “soccer team” until American Airlines discovered the ruse and refused to carry any more. Trump and his administration have played to their racist base on the U.S. taxpayers’ dime.
Now, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has led a vote to return nearly $15 billion of unspent monies from the appropriation funds that the commander-in-chief wanted to get his hands on. Lee said “it’s a start,” as The Daily Signal reported:
‘This $15 billion is only a subset of the $21 trillion debt we’ve accumulated, but it’s a start. We’ve got to start somewhere.’
This White House has spent untold dollars on an ill-considered, rash immigration fiasco. By doing so, it has been draining money from budgets that could have spent that money on real problems, such as drug smuggling.
The House just passed the “rescission measure,” which returns the money, in a 210-206 vote. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said that it was a matter of a “use it or lose it” federal agency mentality.
Never mind that the Republican-led Congress just passed Trump’s $2.3 trillion tax cut bill that benefitted the rich and huge corporations. Their great plan was to recoup that money through their infamous trickle-down economics.
The idea was that the rich would be so happy to get the money, they would pass it down to others. Of course, trickle-down economics did not work for President Ronald Reagan nor President George W. Bush.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he would “take a look at it” if the House passed its version:
‘If the House is able to pass the rescissions package, we’ll take a look at it.’
Lee’s bill, the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act, had six co-sponsors. The plan was for the Congress to return $14.7 billion in unspent funds, even though the spending bill appropriated those funds.
The child-unfriendly Republicans would excise funding from the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Other funds would come from a loan program for fuel-efficient motor vehicles.
Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) wrote in an op-ed for The Daily Signal that emphasized something that appeared to defy logic:
‘The key point to know is this: The rescission would not cut spending on children’s health insurance or reduce coverage in any way. Let me repeat: Not a single child would lose care and not a single hospital or doctor would lose a dime.’
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) noted that our country did not reach a $5 trillion debt through 42 presidents’ terms. Yet, when President George W. Bush left office, he left with a $10 trillion debt.
He added that President Barack Obama left with a debt nearly double that amount. Cruz commented that “it is immoral:”
‘Republicans and Democrats together quadrupled the debt in just 16 years. It is immoral. Enough is enough.’
Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) said the rescission was a “small measure.”
Children without healthcare might not think so. He said:
‘Everybody says they want to go to heaven, but nobody I’ve met wants to take the necessary step to make the trip. It’s a lot like what we have with the budget. Everybody knows we spend too much, but nobody is ready to cut.’
Featured Image via Getty Images/Tom Pennington.
