FLEMING: TYRANNY OF OBAMA STILL UNCHECKED

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congressman John Fleming, M.D. released the following statement after voting against the $1.149 trillion fiscal year (FY) 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill:

“Our country is financially broke. Our total future obligations are in the hundreds of trillions of dollars and yet once again we do nothing in our annual spending bill to change that trajectory. In fact, we do the opposite. I could not support a spending bill that increases spending, with most of it aimed at helping the President’s agenda. It fails to deal with some of the most pressing concerns Americans have, like security risks with the Syrian refugee program and securing our borders. The bill funds President Obama's pledge to send billions of dollars from American taxpayers to the Global Climate Fund, allows the President free reign to regulate carbon emissions and Waters of the U.S., and bails out unions from Obamacare, while leaving everyone else to suffer.

“Worse is the realization that our party now seems to embrace one over-arching principle above all others: Give in to Democrat demands as we might be blamed for shutting down the government. This principle seems to trump all the other principles we espouse and feign to fight for - principles like the sanctity of life, protecting American citizens, the rule of law, and upholding the Constitution. Whenever a policy is proposed in these areas, we are told such policies would close the government. We retreat and swear better days lie ahead.

“Absent from the bill were much needed permanent conscience protections for pro-life healthcare providers and assurances that Syrian refugees will be properly vetted before entering the country. Instead, it was full of unrelated provisions, such as increasing government spying of citizens’ personal data online.

“This bill is unacceptable to those who hold conservative values and feel those values are worth fighting for. There should be nothing but a lump of coal in our Republican stocking this year for what we did.”