Congress cares more about foreign interests than American interests
When President Biden introduced an infrastructure bill to help the American people and a budget to keep government operating and underwrite social programs, Congress found itself divided, not just on the Republican-Democrat partisan divide but among Democrats, too. Far Left Democrats sought to use their muscle to force changes in the bill. But when the debate and delays threatened to derail a bill to give a foreign country $1 billion for a military missile intercept system, they didn’t hesitate to come together and vote 424 to 11 to pass it. In fact they took it out of the bigger spending plan so the foreign country would not have to go through the experience that the American people were going through.
By Ray Hanania
Back in August, President Joe Biden introduced a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and a $3.5 trillion budget package that would advance many of the programs embraced by the Democrats.
It included a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan and a broader spending plan to fund programs favored by the Democrats.
The plan would also fund the U.S. Government.
By early September, it became clear the Republicans were not going to easily support it and several key Democrats were concerned about some of the big spending provisions.
So much of the money would go to help bolster welfare, provide money to people who have decided not to return to work and rely on government support, and would bolster social service programs. Most of the beneficiaries, based on a demographic analysis, would go to voters in Democrat controlled regions.
For Biden, that was important.
But the huge spending bills got bogged down in partisan debate and internal bickering. So, on Sept. 7, Biden was forced to introduce a $3.5 billion “stopgap” funding bill to prevent a shutdown of the government as the bigger bills slogged their way through the House and the Senate.
There was no timetable and back then, many feared the fight could last through the Fall.
But there was one problem. The bill included a $1 billion giveaway to a specific foreign country. I’m not going to name that country, because if I do, people will start calling me all kinds of names, like “anti-Semitic” or worse.
So, the friends of this foreign country — Democrats and Republicans — quickly moved to extract that $1 billion from the bigger bill so it could be voted on separately and passed without delay.
That $1 billion spending bill did pass, with 424 in the Houses voting yes, nine voting no and two too afraid to take a stand.
The point is the interests of the American people often are pushed aside for the interests of foreign countries with powerful and influential lobbying PACs. Members of Congress don’t mind long arguments over how to support the American people because they can blame each other.
But the budget battle delay, which only recently was cleared up, would have also jeopardized that one foreign country’s needs. Clearly, not many members of Congress wanted to do that.
This particular foreign country has a huge PAC network, one of the nation’s largest, that funnels hundreds of millions of dollars into their campaign coffers.
Your representatives don’t want to lose that cash. If they can take $1 billion from the hardworking taxpayers like you and me, rather than delay money for this particular country, they don’t mind. Eventually, the interests of the American people will fall into place, even if it is costly and painful.
I left out the name of this foreign country intentionally to help you see past the viciousness of its advocates who attack anyone who questions what happened. Leaving that country’s name out of the discussion allows you to, maybe, see the argument for what it really is.
The “powerful” always get their cut of the pie first, and apparently, American taxpayers are not really that powerful. The pie is made up of your tax dollars, money most of you work hard to make and pay to government in Federal taxes every year. If you don’t pay your Federal Taxes, the punishment is punitive and extreme. In addition to having to repay what you owe, you also must pay fines and fast growing interest penalties tripling the total that has to be repaid.
There is no consideration for you, the hardworking American citizen, like there often is for foreign countries. Members of the House and the Senate need your money to hand out to the people who channel the hundreds of millions into their campaign coffers, so that they can get re-elected.
There used to be a principle in American politics. “Good government is good politics.” That means if you provided the services the taxpayers need, you will always get re-elected. Remember that term “good government?” It doesn’t exist any more.
In these days of sleazy politics, foreign PAC pressures and corruption swelling in the House and the Senate, politicians have learned that money is more important. It helps them pull the wool over your eyes.
So, that little foreign country that has a powerful funding PAC network in tow becomes their number one priority, a priority that is so far above you that you don’t even realize how you are getting screwed.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter and political columnist. His mainstream political columns are published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers. His Middle East columns are published in the Arab News. For more information on Ray Hanania visit www.Hanania.com or email him at rghanania@gmail.com.)
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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