A Pleasant Halt to More Spending

Today, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 failed to pass in the U.S. House – but only by a very small margin. Its defeat today is a rare, fiscally responsible action in a Congress that has been gung-ho on spending since being sworn into office in January. The Democrat majority had hoped to sneak this 1,200-page, $10-billion package through with no more than 40-minutes of debate.

This omnibus bill today cobbled together over 170 different bills, including 75 measures that we never even reviewed in the House. Hidden amongst its pages are 19 provisions to restrict American-made energy production and jobs by withdrawing federal land from mineral leasing - such as oil, gas, and coal exploration. It withdraws 3 million acres from energy leasing and recreation use. And, it eliminates 331 million barrels of recoverable oil and 8.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resulting from energy exploration in Wyoming.

Whether you agree with these measures of not, you cannot argue that a bill like this should be brought to the floor and voted on with just 40 minutes of discussion and no ability to offer amendments. Thankfully, this measure did not pass, but the bipartisanship that the Democrats promised on the campaign trail continues to remain nonexistent. Their procedural maneuvers and failure to require proper vetting continue to show a level of disrespect not only to the Congressional minority – but the American taxpayer.