By Douglas V. Gibbs
House of Representatives Ways and Means Chair, Republican Jason Smith, believes the way to get Trump’s presidency off and running properly and quickly is not to mess around, but to pass out the gate an omnibus law hitting taxes, the border, and energy policies all at once. Hit a grand slam and be done with it, rather than working the bases and moving things around one by one. Members of the U.S. Senate, and incoming White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, do not agree. They are proposing taking on each issue individually, with individual stand-alone bills rather than a large mammoth bill like the one suggested by Smith, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. The argument is that everything would be easier to pass if pushed together in one large bill, but isn’t that the kind of shenanigans that ticked off voters in the first place and pushed them to vote for a change away from the government leviathan establishment games?
In the end, the guidance will come from incoming President Donald Trump. While Johnson and Smith’s argument makes a little sense when one considers the House only enjoys a narrow majority, the fact is that Republicans do indeed have a majority, and there are Democrats willing to work with the GOP, especially if the bills are presented individually and their resistance could be exposed for public scrutiny.
Constitutionally, the Founding Fathers expected bills to stand alone. They did not shove all of their pipe dreams into a bill with other things so that they could sneak things in while nobody was looking. Omnibus bills are typically filled with ear marks and special favors to gain votes, and carry with them the threat that if a member of Congress votes against it for one issue, they won’t get approved regarding a different issue that is also shoved into the massive bill. The problem is, omnibus bills also shroud transparency, and allows secret little nuggets to be slipped in without anyone noticing.
It’s also a game of pressure. If someone in Congress votes against an omnibus bill, regardless of their reason, a particular issue other than what the Congress Critter was voting against will be targeted by the media. If a representative votes against an omnibus bill for, let’s say, a funding mechanism that would unconstitutionally require citizens to no longer be able to purchase a particular item in the name of saving the planet, the media would turn around and say that the person voted against a bill providing funding for education rather than explain why the Congress Critter actually voted no. But, if a bill is stand-alone, not targeting a bunch of issues all at once, nor is it filled with various generous and liberal portions of pork, voters will know easily where the Congressman or Senator stands on that particular issue. Recognizing that transparency has been strengthened by the single-issue bill, elected personnel may think twice about their vote when they also think about what such a vote might do to their electoral chances in the next election.
Stand-alone bills take the reins out of the hands of the establishment, and places them back into the hands of the general public.
The debate over how to push into place Trump’s agenda poses as a clear test on who on Capitol Hill ranks among Trump’s allies, and who will be forced to take a walk out of office when they are voted out in the next election. GOP defectors can cry and complain all they wish, but in the end, more than ever, the public is watching. The American People voted Trump into office so that Trump can put into place his agenda, and obstacles to that agenda will be noticed, and likely removed when the voters have a say about it. GOP defectors and Democrats alike can hide behind massive and confusing language if Trump’s policies are placed in an omnibus bill, but they will be exposed for who they are if each bill is proposed individually without omnibus monsters crammed together or ear marks shoving other issues into the language.
The American People decided what they want, and it’s not a sequence of games or old establishment machine tactics. Commit or don’t, and be counted for your position. That is what the American People are looking for. Stop the games, pick a position, and stand behind it. Pass tax, border, and energy bills on their own, individually, and make sure the American People know where each and every Congress Critter stands on each and every issue presented to them.
Transparent government is a more honest government. Omnibus bills destroy transparency, and should be constitutionally eliminated by killing the practice with a Constitutional Amendment.
— Political Pistachio Conservative New and Commentary
