5 Egregious Examples of Leftist Earmarks in Shutdown-Ending Funding Bill
This is performative politics again.
The bill President Donald Trump signed in order to end the government shutdown also included mandatory spending that will contradict his policy goals.
The $1.2 trillion package included funding for specific entities—some of which the Trump administration is currently threatening to defund. Other funded entities provide legal defenses for illegal aliens facing deportation, while some hospitals receiving money practice late-term abortions.
“Avoiding a protracted government shutdown of some of the largest agencies like [the Department of Health and Human Services] and the Department of War is a laudable goal, but passing bills that undermine the president’s agenda to cut woke and weaponized spending is not the way to do it,” Connor Semelsberger, government relations director at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in a statement Thursday.
“The Trump administration has taken more steps to eliminate woke spending then any president in recent history, starting first and foremost with entities pushing horrific practices like gender mutilation of children and late term abortions of unborn children whom can feel pain,” he added. “Unfortunately, the appropriations bills passed by Congress provide funding to these exact entities against the will of the American taxpayers.”
When Congress funds the government, each agency usually has discretion in how to spend the money. Yet Congress can stipulate that the agency give the money to a specific entity in a process called “congressionally directed spending.” This mandatory spending—often referred to as “earmarks”—does not appear in the text of the bill Trump signed, though the bill mentions it. Instead, the Senate Appropriations Committee released the earmarks last month, in files that stretch to hundreds of pages.
Here are five of the most egregious examples.
1. Funding Health Centers Performing Transgender ‘Treatments’
While the Department of Health and Human Services is currently investigating some hospitals for performing experimental medical interventions on minors, the funding bill explicitly directs taxpayer money to those hospitals, albeit for other purposes.
Fox News reported that Seattle Children’s Hospital in Washington state will receive $3 million, due to a request from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., while the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago will receive $1 million, thanks to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The Department of Health and Human Services has investigated both hospitals for performing the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of minors. Lurie has paused transgender interventions for minors amid the investigation.
Both senators defended the funding in comments to Fox News, emphasizing the health centers’ work. Critics note, however, that money is fungible and that these earmarks appear to directly undermine HHS’ ability to use a threat of defunding to convince the health centers to cease operating on minors.
Neither Seattle Children’s Hospital nor Lurie Children’s Hospital responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by press time. The Daily Signal reached out to the senators for comment, and did not receive responses by publication time.
2. Funding for Health …
This is performative politics again.
The bill President Donald Trump signed in order to end the government shutdown also included mandatory spending that will contradict his policy goals.
The $1.2 trillion package included funding for specific entities—some of which the Trump administration is currently threatening to defund. Other funded entities provide legal defenses for illegal aliens facing deportation, while some hospitals receiving money practice late-term abortions.
“Avoiding a protracted government shutdown of some of the largest agencies like [the Department of Health and Human Services] and the Department of War is a laudable goal, but passing bills that undermine the president’s agenda to cut woke and weaponized spending is not the way to do it,” Connor Semelsberger, government relations director at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in a statement Thursday.
“The Trump administration has taken more steps to eliminate woke spending then any president in recent history, starting first and foremost with entities pushing horrific practices like gender mutilation of children and late term abortions of unborn children whom can feel pain,” he added. “Unfortunately, the appropriations bills passed by Congress provide funding to these exact entities against the will of the American taxpayers.”
When Congress funds the government, each agency usually has discretion in how to spend the money. Yet Congress can stipulate that the agency give the money to a specific entity in a process called “congressionally directed spending.” This mandatory spending—often referred to as “earmarks”—does not appear in the text of the bill Trump signed, though the bill mentions it. Instead, the Senate Appropriations Committee released the earmarks last month, in files that stretch to hundreds of pages.
Here are five of the most egregious examples.
1. Funding Health Centers Performing Transgender ‘Treatments’
While the Department of Health and Human Services is currently investigating some hospitals for performing experimental medical interventions on minors, the funding bill explicitly directs taxpayer money to those hospitals, albeit for other purposes.
Fox News reported that Seattle Children’s Hospital in Washington state will receive $3 million, due to a request from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., while the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago will receive $1 million, thanks to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The Department of Health and Human Services has investigated both hospitals for performing the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of minors. Lurie has paused transgender interventions for minors amid the investigation.
Both senators defended the funding in comments to Fox News, emphasizing the health centers’ work. Critics note, however, that money is fungible and that these earmarks appear to directly undermine HHS’ ability to use a threat of defunding to convince the health centers to cease operating on minors.
Neither Seattle Children’s Hospital nor Lurie Children’s Hospital responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by press time. The Daily Signal reached out to the senators for comment, and did not receive responses by publication time.
2. Funding for Health …
5 Egregious Examples of Leftist Earmarks in Shutdown-Ending Funding Bill
This is performative politics again.
The bill President Donald Trump signed in order to end the government shutdown also included mandatory spending that will contradict his policy goals.
The $1.2 trillion package included funding for specific entities—some of which the Trump administration is currently threatening to defund. Other funded entities provide legal defenses for illegal aliens facing deportation, while some hospitals receiving money practice late-term abortions.
“Avoiding a protracted government shutdown of some of the largest agencies like [the Department of Health and Human Services] and the Department of War is a laudable goal, but passing bills that undermine the president’s agenda to cut woke and weaponized spending is not the way to do it,” Connor Semelsberger, government relations director at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in a statement Thursday.
“The Trump administration has taken more steps to eliminate woke spending then any president in recent history, starting first and foremost with entities pushing horrific practices like gender mutilation of children and late term abortions of unborn children whom can feel pain,” he added. “Unfortunately, the appropriations bills passed by Congress provide funding to these exact entities against the will of the American taxpayers.”
When Congress funds the government, each agency usually has discretion in how to spend the money. Yet Congress can stipulate that the agency give the money to a specific entity in a process called “congressionally directed spending.” This mandatory spending—often referred to as “earmarks”—does not appear in the text of the bill Trump signed, though the bill mentions it. Instead, the Senate Appropriations Committee released the earmarks last month, in files that stretch to hundreds of pages.
Here are five of the most egregious examples.
1. Funding Health Centers Performing Transgender ‘Treatments’
While the Department of Health and Human Services is currently investigating some hospitals for performing experimental medical interventions on minors, the funding bill explicitly directs taxpayer money to those hospitals, albeit for other purposes.
Fox News reported that Seattle Children’s Hospital in Washington state will receive $3 million, due to a request from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., while the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago will receive $1 million, thanks to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. The Department of Health and Human Services has investigated both hospitals for performing the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of minors. Lurie has paused transgender interventions for minors amid the investigation.
Both senators defended the funding in comments to Fox News, emphasizing the health centers’ work. Critics note, however, that money is fungible and that these earmarks appear to directly undermine HHS’ ability to use a threat of defunding to convince the health centers to cease operating on minors.
Neither Seattle Children’s Hospital nor Lurie Children’s Hospital responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by press time. The Daily Signal reached out to the senators for comment, and did not receive responses by publication time.
2. Funding for Health …
