H.R. 2471, officially known as the “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022,” would provide $1.5 trillion in discretionary appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022 for federal government operations and services. This omnibus spending bill was voted on in two portions (Roll Calls 65 and 66). The provisions in the second portion to be voted on (Roll Call 66) included approximately $600 billion to fund the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Labor, State (for “foreign operations”), Transportation, and Treasury, as well as the EPA, NIH, HUD, SNAP (food stamp program), etc.
The House passed the second portion of H.R. 2471 on March 9, 2022 by a vote of 260 to 171 (Roll Call 66). We have assigned pluses to the nays because most of the spending would go to federal government departments, agencies, and programs that have no authorization or basis in the Constitution. Furthermore, this reckless spending is currently yielding record-high inflation, most visible in the current rising grocery prices.
