Democrats' Plan to Steamroll $3.5 Trillion Budget

The largest budget in U.S. history, $3.5 trillion for fiscal year 2022, is hurtling toward approval in Congress after Democrats paved the way for a negotiated process that assures its passage.  Specific details are scant at this juncture, a tactic to keep the legislation under wraps until both chambers vote.

Minutes before 4 a.m. on August 11, the Senate approved a blueprint of the $3.5 trillion budget in a 50-49 vote along party lines.  Seventeen days later the House passed an identical budget resolution by a 220-212 margin with the support of only Democrats. The broad outlines will be fleshed out in joint committees.  

To iron out detail, the Senate and House are using a process known as reconciliation, which makes it easier to pass legislation in the Senate.  Employing this legislative tool avoids the need for 60 votes in the Senate.  The spending and tax bill will require a simple majority in the upper chamber.

This fast-track procedure prevents Republicans from using a filibuster, which would require a 60-vote majority to end debate and force a vote.  With a virtual deadlock in the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris would cast the deciding vote, ensuring passage.  Republicans also have used reconciliation.

Pundits speculate the bill's passage hinges on the competing interests of House Democrat progressives and a handful of moderates.  But Speaker Nancy Pelosi rules her troops with an iron fist and few will defy her once the legislation reaches a floor vote. Ignore the media noise about party disunity. 

Likewise in the Senate, Joe Manchin of West Virginia rails against the price tag, threatening to vote against the mega-spending measure.  However, we have seen this grandstanding bluster before.  In the end, Democrat Senate leader Chuck Schumer will corral Manchin to drag the bill across the finish line.

This is a fait accompli no matter what you hear from the media and talking heads. The only issue left to decide is how to divvy up trillions of dollars amongst a plethora of programs.

Here are the skeletal contours of key Senate and House approved budget resolutions:

• $726 billion to include universal Pre-K for 3-and-4-year olds; child care for working families; tuition free community college; racial equity health investments; and funds for Community Health Centers and other educational investments.
• $37 billion for electrifying the federal vehicle fleet, including post office vehicles; border management investments; and, improving the government's cybersecurity infrastructure.
• $107 billion for lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants; investments in effective border measures; and, community violence intervention initiatives.
• $135 billion on rural cop-op clean energy; agricultural climate research; funding for a Civilian Climate Corps; child nutrition; and, forestry programs to help reduce carbon emissions and prevent wildfires.
• $332 billion for improving housing affordability by providing down payment assistance, rental assistance and other home ownership initiatives; and, funding for zoning, land use and transit improvements to create healthy and sustainable housing.
• $198 billion for clean electricity payment program; consumer rebates to weatherize and electrify their homes; climate research; financing for domestic manufacturing of clean energy; and, auto supply chain technologies.
• $67 billion for a Clean Energy Technology Accelerator that would fund low-income solar and other climate-friendly technologies; environmental investments in clean water affordability and access, healthy ports and climate equity; and, investments in clean energy vehicles. 
• Among the proposals not listed in these categories are expansion of the Affordable Care Act and an increase in Medicare benefits to include dental and vision coverage. 

For the record, this is only a representative list of some of the major spending programs.  Smaller funding initiatives have been excluded. Language used to describe the spending was taken directly from the Democratic Senators memorandum on the FY2022 Budget Resolution Agreement Framework.  

Dollar signs are garnering the headlines, however, the spending will strengthen the government's role in education, healthcare, energy and the environment.  The federal government will control large swaths of the American economy, while permanently establishing new, expensive entitlements   

On the heels of this spending package, Democrats are teeing up a vote on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that will attract some GOP votes. The 2,702-page bill will pass with a few tweaks to accommodate projects in key Democratic House and Senate districts to bolster their reelection chances.  

The infrastructure package includes $110 billion for roads and bridges; $66 billion for railroads with upgrades to passenger rail systems; $65 billion for clean energy additions to the power grid; $65 billion for broadband expansion in rural and low-income areas; and, $55 billion for water infrastructure.

For the sake of brevity, this description highlights the major spending programs.  There are at least a dozen other mandates for cybersecurity, the environment, electric vehicles, school buses, safety, water ports, airports, and upgrades to public transit systems nationwide.

If you are following this spending trail with a calculator in hand, the cost for the combination of infrastructure and budget proposals amounts to about $5 trillion.  This bloated package will create yawning deficits and impose an estimated $1.35 trillion in tax increases to fund the spending spree.

Likely taxes will be hiked for households with $400,000 income and up; corporate taxes will increase; fossil fuel tax preferences will be erased; clean energy taxes will increase; and, other taxes will be added.  Dwindling numbers of Americans (39%) who pay federal income taxes will fund this excess.

Even Republicans agree there are needed projects in the spending proposals.  Not every expenditure should be viewed as unnecessary.  But each should be justified on its own merits with a cost-benefit analysis.  The process does not accommodate this approach. Instead it promotes wasteful spending.

Under the Democrats' self-imposed deadline, the gargantuan bill will be rushed to a vote without the opportunity for reps and senators to read the blizzard of pages containing line item expenditures.  Paraphrasing Speaker Pelosi's past words: "to find out what's in the bill, we have to pass it first."  

Reconciliation, although within Senate and House rules, allows a handful of committees to write the final bill's language with minimal input from non-committee members.  The procedure progresses behind closed doors, concealing the final draft until hours before a dash to a vote. It is a broken process. 

However, neither Republicans nor Democrats will abandon or revise the procedure because they view the benefits as political leverage for the party in power. 

Americans need to weigh in--pro or con--with their House representatives and Senators if they want their voices heard on these bills.  The cynics will do nothing because they believe their opinions matter not one wit. However, now's not the time to squat on the sidelines. The future of the country is a stake.

Chaos Reigns In Biden Administration

Skidding approval ratings are the least of President Biden's worries. Candidate Biden's pledge to quash the pandemic, the cornerstone of his presidential campaign, remains unfulfilled.  Crises at the southern border and the turbulent withdrawal from Afghanistan also have rocked his presidency.

Quinnipiac University's poll conducted last week revealed Mr. Biden's approval rating sank to 42%, a steep decline since January when he stood in the mid 50's.  Only two national leaders have experienced lower approval ratings at this point in their presidency: Donald Trump (37%) and Gerald Ford (37%). 

Peering beneath the numbers reveals Mr. Biden's approval rating among independents has slipped 14 points.  Shockingly, his standing with Democrats has dipped eight points.  Among all those surveyed, 60% disapprove of the way the president handled the Afghanistan exodus. 

Since the Afghanistan debacle, the president has become noticeably irritable and testy.  Reporters questions  about the chaotic departure are met with stony silence or deflected with lectures claiming no one could have foreseen the consequences of withdrawal.  Both tactics are eroding public confidence. 

Despite Mr. Biden's promise to leave no American behind, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken admitted in testimony before a Senate committee there were "roughly" 100 Americans stranded in Afghanistan. The secretary acknowledged charter flights from Afghanistan are being blocked by the Taliban.

To make matters worse, the president's performance at the somber transfer of the remains of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware earned the scorn of grieving families.  Video captured Mr. Biden checking his watch after caskets were removed from the military plane.

USA Today fact checkers confirm Associated Press photos show Mr. Biden looking at his watch at least three times.  The only fact in dispute is the lack of video evidence the president checked his watch as each flag-draped casket passed.  Grieving families witnessed 13 watch checks, according to news reports.

The Washington Post reported the father of fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmidt had a tense encounter with the president.  To the father's chagrin, Mr. Biden spoke more about his son Beau, who died of brain cancer, than about the sacrifice of the father's son.  Beau served in Afghanistan and returned home safely.  

Cheyenne McCollum, the sister of  Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, reported a similar experience with Mr. Biden.  "I was able to stand about 15 seconds of his fake, scripted apology, and I had to walk away," Cheyenne bristled.   

This was not the compassionate Biden the media painted during the election. 

Immediately after the tragic loss of lives, his speech to the nation lacked emotion and empathy.  His hasty exit from the podium after the remarks was callous for such a grave occasion.  This is a tone deaf president whose behavior belies the fawning media's portrayal of the man.

To pivot from the Afghan disaster, the president refocused media attention to his administration's efforts to halt the spread of COVID amid soaring cases and spiraling hospitalizations. To date, the president's record is spotty at best.  That is not an opinion.  The data tells the story.

The day President Biden was sworn into office the number of COVID cases stood at 152,379. The new president deemed that level unacceptable. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported last week the 7-day moving average of daily cases increased 7% to 142,072, a less than 3% decline in eight months.

The president was gifted with the advantage of readily available weapons to tamp down the virus. There are three vaccines widely available that have been distributed nationwide.  Despite pleas from health organizations and federal officials, only 53.9% of Americans are fully vaccinated as of September 11.

Administration officials trumpet the fact that 76.5% of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose. What is left unsaid: CDC data also shows that at least 15 million people due for the second dose have elected not to return for the jab.  Only fully vaccinated are adequately protected. 

President Biden decided to address the unvaccinated issue last week. Instead of a national appeal for unity, he used the occasion to scold the unvaccinated.  Most Americans agree everyone needs to be vaccinated. His message was punitive not motivational.   

This is divisive, pitting the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated.  No wonder a recent poll found a majority of Americans (54%) think the country is less united. Shaming the unvaccinated is the least productive strategy to convince these Americans to sign up for the shot. 

Noticeably, the president failed to mention CDC data indicating African-Americans and Hispanics are less likely than their white counterparts to have received a vaccine, leaving them at greater risk.

CDC posted these figures on September 14: 16.6% of Hispanics have been fully vaccinated; 9.9% of African-Americans have received two vaccine doses.  Why didn't the president make a direct appeal to those Americans?  This is his constituency. Was Mr. Biden afraid of offending his base?  

The president also mandated businesses require employees to be vaccinated. He called on the Department of Labor to enforce his edict, which included small businesses with as few as 100 employees. Already, there is pushback from small businesses and police and fire unions.  Legal challenges are expected. 

For a president determined to arrest the virus, his open border policy is a contradiction of his goal to staunch  the virus. Pew Research Center reports encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border have soared to a 21-year high.  In July, 199,777 illegal immigrants were admitted into the United States.

At this moment, thousands of Haitian immigrants are camped near the border at Del Rio, Texas, hoping to cross into the U.S. As the the humanitarian crisis worsened, buses arrived to transfer Haitians to San Antonio. The administration  authorized deportation flights to Port-au-Prince airport in Haiti.

Texas Rep. August Pfluger, who was briefed by Border Patrol agents in Del Rio, was informed there were 14,878 migrants camped under the international bridge at Del Rio as of Saturday.  Pfluger said: "Speaking to Border Patrol agents, the worst is yet to come...they're worried about coordination with Mexico."

Independent sources estimate about one million illegal immigrants have crossed the border since January. NBC reported more than 18% of illegal immigrant families and 20% of unaccompanied minors test positive for COVID after leaving Border Patrol custody.

NBC's source was a briefing document prepared for President Biden. The president is aware of the dire situation.   

What science is the president following by allowing unvaccinated illegal immigrants to cross into the U.S.?  Americans returning from overseas flights are tested for the COVID virus before they return to this country. Americans have to show proof of vaccination for cruises, Broadway shows. etc.

This is the height of hypocrisy to have a different standard for non-citizens.  

Let's stop at this point.  Democrats' blood pressure is off the charts reading a negative article about their president.  He is NOT Trump they will point out. There is less drama today. There are no offensive tweets. There are no riots near the Capitol.  Few Democrats can defend Biden without referring to Trump.

Mr. Biden should be judged on his actions in the Afghanistan fiasco, his failure to stem the rising Delta variant tide and the ongoing crisis at the border, where unvaccinated illegal immigrants are ushered into our country.  He owns the catastrophic ramifications and the chaos it has created. 

Presidents who blame previous administrations, Republican or Democrat, are attempting to avoid accountability to find solutions to fix problems, including those they inherited. The buck stops with the president as Mr. Biden has reminded.  Every president should govern with that principle in mind.  

9/11: America's Deadliest Attack United Country

Shafts of sunlight streamed through our bedroom window, a bright beginning to a Tuesday.  I pulled on my suit and knotted a tie, eyeing my watch.  I had about an hour before I was scheduled to board a 10:45 a.m. flight to Mexico City for a business meeting.   

As I fussed with my tie, Dianna burst into the bedroom, an anguished look on her face.  "You won't believe this," she excitedly said, her voice beginning to crack.  "An airplane just crashed into the World Trade Center."  Her eyes misted as I flicked on the television and slumped on the bed.  

That was my first glimpse of a horrific image that left me gasping.   The news network replayed video of a fully loaded American Airlines passenger plane inexplicably crashing into the north tower.  Somehow, I sensed this Tuesday was about to become America's worst nightmare.

Eighteen minutes later a United Airlines flight barreled into the 110-foot skyscraper, exploding in a fireball. This was no longer air disaster. America was under attack.  Like millions of Americans, Dianna and I camped in front of the television on September 11, 2001, hoping, praying for a miracle.  

Just when we thought the worst was over, a news flash broke the spell: an American Airlines jet had slammed into the Pentagon. Television cameras broadcast live images from Washington. Shocking scenes of death and panic.  Family called, inquiring if we had heard the dreadful news.

In New York, first responders swarmed the city's yawning canyons. Firemen rushed into burning buildings, courageously battling intense heat and smoke-choked towers.  As the blaze raged, firefights caked in dust, slumped in exhaustion, but fought on to honor their duty to save lives.

As we continued our televised vigil, torrid fires engulfed the twin towers.  Americans glued to their televisions will never forget what happened next.  The south tower collapsed in a mushrooming cloud of dust and billowing smoke. It was a sickening sight, vividly seared into my memory. 

Thousands trapped in the north tower peered from windows, waving frantically, desperate for a rescue that never came. A few terrified people leaped to their deaths minutes before the tower crumbled to the ground in a thunderous roar. Six souls miraculously survived the unspeakable holocaust.   

Inconceivably, the terror was not over.  A fourth plane was hijacked about 40 minutes after it departed Newark.  Passengers, aware of the the tragedy in New York and Washington, bravely battled the four hijackers. The melee ended when the plane plummeted into a Pennsylvania field, killing all aboard.

Hours later New Yorkers poured into ground zero in flickering hope of finding missing love ones who worked in the towers. Soon pictures of the lost were taped to light standards and buildings. Dust rained down like snow on the the frenzied crowd, determined to believe their search was not in vain. 

September 11th changed America forever.  The cowardly jihadist attacks killed 2,996 people, including 343 New York firefighters, 23 police officers and 17 Port Authority members, who heroically struggled to evacuate the office buildings.  Americans were grief-stricken, frightened and angry.

The fatality toll made the September 11th attacks the deadliest in American history.  The Japanese navy's bombardment of Pearl Harbor in 1941 claimed the lives of 2,403.  These two violent episodes both united Americans in ways the country has not experienced in the intervening years.

As daylight faded to dusk on September 11, Americans streamed into houses of worship as church bells peeled throughout our land. We gathered and wept and prayed together. Crowds, unable to find room in cramped houses of worship, huddled outside. A reverent, hush cloaked the surroundings.

Rabbis, ministers and priests knitted together hastily arranged memorial services to mourn victims. The outpouring of religious fervor was unprecedented. Many Americans rediscovered their faith in God in the midst of overwhelming tragedy. Our faith was never stronger, never tested as much.    

Candlelight memorials sprung up in parks, open lots and neighborhoods  Strangers hugged one another to console mutual grief. People seemed kinder, setting aside differences.  Americans helped each other, opening our homes and hearts to neighbors and the weary. Nothing mattered more than our country..   

Soon American flags sprouted in yards across the country. Businesses draped Old Glory from office windows.  Handmade signs proclaimed, "Never Forget." Flags dotted the landscape from sea to shining sea.  Everyone was proud to be an American.  We were all in this together.  Patriotism was back in style.

A byproduct of this unity was an outpouring of public support for President George W. Bush,  Polling documented his approval rating soared to 92% in October, an unheard display of national solidarity.  Both political parties joined hands in a rare display of bipartisanship to back the war on terror.

At that time, most Americans had not been born to witness the Pearl Harbor bombing.  For most of us, it was our first experience with such destruction and death.  This was our moment of personal and national reckoning.  Would we rise to the challenge as our parents did in 1941?

The answer came swiftly as young men and women volunteered in droves to serve in the military to strike back at the terrorists. Firemen from surrounding cities rallied to assist New York.  National guard outfits dashed to the scenes. Ordinary Americans pitched in to help victims, donating money and time.

In the ensuring weeks and months, Americans donned NYFD hats, flew flags from their cars and trucks, and wore tee shirts with images of the twin towers. Everywhere you looked, there was a wave of red, white and blue.  Our nation was attacked, but the American spirit was not defeated.

Over twenty years, the emotions of that day have softened but remained tender in the recesses of our heart. Our nation's marking of that tragic day has waned over two decades, but the 20th anniversary has sparked renewed nationalism. Perhaps, that will fuel a rebirth of patriotism.

We must never forget the firefighters, police and paramedics who sacrificed their lives to rescue fellow Americans as well as the military men and women who fought and died on foreign soil to defeat the terrorists. They deserve the eternal thanks of a grateful nation.   

My memory of that soul-crushing day is as intense as ever.  Mixed with the pain, a glimmer of wonderment lingers.  From the darkest of days, good followed.  For me, the blessing of September 11th occurred when Americans reclaimed our cherished identity as one nation, under God.