Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa made the following comment on his vote against the omnibus spending bill approved by the Senate over the weekend.
“This bill continued a bad pattern the Senate has fallen into in recent years under the current leadership. Instead of hastily considering a 1,600-page, $1.1 trillion spending bill, we need to return to considering annual appropriations bills. So much spending deserves debate, consideration and an open, transparent amendment process. Senate committees should be able to vet the government programs and spending within their jurisdiction. Senators should be allowed to offer amendments, both in committee and on the Senate floor. A poor process leads to bad policy, like scaling back banking derivatives laws without debate or accountability. It also leads to the distrust the American people have in their government. The people feel Congress writes back-room deals, and we ought to earn back their trust with an open process. And, we’re allowing the President to bypass Congress, ignore the rule of law and make major immigration policy by acting unilaterally. My hope for the new year under new leadership is a return to a better process that will lead to better policy than what we’re enacting now.”
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