This is why I’ll vote against the omnibus spending bill:
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It tells federal agencies that they can spend taxpayer dollars to study the ‘causes’ of gun violence, a mandate that – make no mistake – will be abused by future liberal administrations to manufacture evidence to try to violate law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights.
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It funds the Ex-Im Bank, a classic example of corporate welfare that has doled out over $100 billion in taxpayer-guaranteed loans, primarily to a handful of giant and well-connected corporations.
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It fails to reduce funding for the EPA, which under Obama administration zealots, killed thousands of jobs and dramatically strayed from its core mission of ensuring clean air and water.
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All of these measures amount to piling even greater debt onto the backs of our kids and grandkids, all because we are incapable of living within our means.
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To be sure, this bill could have been even worse. I am happy to say that I was able to fight to keep out even more egregious proposals.
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I'm proud we successfully blocked a bailout of Obamacare. There were voices in DC who wanted to funnel billions of taxpayer dollars directly to insurers, so they can maintain their Obamacare policies. We promised Americans we would repeal and replace Obamacare, not prop it up.
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Lobbyists in Washington also almost got a new Internet sales tax added to the bill, which would have been catastrophically foolish.
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This proposal would have applied to virtually every transaction on the Internet, pouring cold water on the benefits of the bold tax cuts we achieved last year. Americans need more permanent tax relief, not additional tax burdens.
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I also worked to prevent an increase in the passenger facility charge; another tax increase that would have driven up the cost of every airline ticket purchased by consumers and inflicted a significant burden on the Texas airline industry, which supports thousands of Texas jobs.
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Finally, although this bill overall is truly a monstrosity, it does contain a few positive elements for which I gladly advocated.
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First, it fully funds our military, providing an additional $61 billion for national defense over FY 2017 levels, the largest year-to-year increase in base funding for the Department of Defense in 15 years.
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The bill will also increase our security here at home by providing resources for new border security infrastructure and personnel.
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Second, the bill includes the Taylor Force Act, legislation I proudly cosponsored, which will stop U.S. taxpayer dollars from going to the Palestinian Authority if it continues its policy of paying monetary rewards to terrorists and their families.
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These provisions are the few glimmers of light trying to escape the gravity of this black-hole of federal spending and liberal priorities.
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Washington is failing the American people, but I will continue to fight for a better path, one that respects the will of the American people, who sent us here to fight for fiscal sanity.
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End of conversation
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