Yes, I know, I spent one term in the US Congress. Republicans, namely one Florida State Senator Don Gaetz, determined it was prudent to redistrict out the first Black Republican Member of Congress from Florida since Reconstruction. After all, why have a strong Black conservative Congressional Representative, retired Army officer, who honored his oath to the Constitution? And, who was unafraid to speak the truth? Combat does that to a person, regardless of who feigned indignation. I recall sending a letter to the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Hal Rogers of Kentucky, asking him about the priority of the (12) Appropriations Bills necessary to create a spending budget. Silly Freshman member of the House of Representatives, how dare you inquire such folly from a senior member of the body? And so I never heard back from Chairman Rogers.
See, per the Constitution, Congress is mandated to pass a budget each year, and they fail to do so repeatedly. Somehow, they, regardless of political party, always seem to fall short, and we hear words such as Continuing Resolution, meaning spending levels will continue. Then, all of a sudden, at the end of the year, when folks are focused on Christmas, Congress comes up with something called an Omnibus spending bill. It is normally the 3,000+ pages of gobbledygook, I call it a spending gumbo, and it passes with no one really reading it.
Therefore, appropriations bills are never passed as they should be. There is no priority for the appropriations bills. And the result is that wasteful spending continues, with added spending.
Washington DC, meaning the federal government, and the focus is on the House of Representatives, operates on a budget system called Baseline. What that means is that each new budget cycle starts from the baseline of the previous year…ya know, spend the money to justify getting more. All it would take to correct the absurd spending practices of DC would be to abolish the Baseline budget system and go to a Zero Based Budget system. That means each and every government agency and program has to re-justify itself and its existence, and I mean line by line. That does not happen, which is why the Department of Defense has successfully failed, what, seven straight audits. Now, who in the private sector could survive that?
Now, before you get to the appropriations process, first comes the authorization process. This is where the respective congressional committees of jurisdiction and subcommittees, hear from the federal government agencies/departments/directorates of their planned missions, roles, and purposes for the coming budget year. I sat on the House Armed Services Committee, and we would hear testimony from all the SecDef/CJCS, Service Secretaries/Chiefs of Staff, Combatant Commanders, and subordinate staffs—personnel, special operations, operations, defense acquisition, etc. etc. Once we had heard all the testimony we would undergo what is called a “Mark Up” of the National Defense Authorization Act. If there were amendments to be offered, they would be presented and debated in the HASC. We would then come to a final NDAA that would be voted on out of the HASC and sent to the full House of Representatives to be voted upon…to include amendments to be offered and further debate. Once the NDAA has passed the full House, and understand, the same is happening in the Senate Armed Services Committee, there may need to be a reconciliation between the House and Senate versions of the NDAA.
Only after there is an approved NDAA can the appropriations process begin, meaning one of the (12) appropriations bills is the Defense Appropriations bill. That has to be passed in the respective legislative bodies, reconciled, and have a final vote. That determines the funding levels for the Department of Defense and other federal government agencies.
That is how it is supposed to function, but again, it ends up being an Omnibus spending bill that no one reads and multiple continuing resolutions CRs.
The other indicator of dysfunction is that Congress does not properly do oversight. And how do we know that? Well, look at what Elon Musk and his DOGE committee are finding. When you do not produce a proper budget and you produce one that is based on an extension of previous spending. You do not have any idea of the priority of appropriations bills. You create massive spending measures that most do not read. And you enact these unconstitutional items called Omnibus and Continuing Resolutions…and that is the recipe for $36 trillion in debt.
Democrat members of Congress are angered because the gig is up. Not only is the lack of constitutional adherence being exposed but their lack of proper constitutional checks and balances is being uncovered. Think about the Senate Ethics Committee investigation being opened up on Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse because of the millions of taxpayer dollars that went to a non-profit run by his wife. Checks and balances?
Now, leftists believe that the Executive Branch has no power to change spending once they have appropriated the funding. That is unconscionable. The Executive Branch is led by the chief executive in whom executive power is vested (Article II of the Constitution), the President of the United States. The executive branch does not need to get a “mother may I” from Congress to spend less than what was appropriated. Now, if the Executive Branch seeks out additional funding, they must appear before committees of jurisdiction in requesting a Supplemental, and that must be debated and approved. And as far as federal government employees, they fall under the Executive Branch, and the chief executive can determine their employment. President Trump is not focused on anyone who is under the legislative or judicial branch, but we should probably look at their productivity as well.
Why does Washington, DC, not function? Simple, too many do not read the Constitution and believe that the federal government is an instrument of implementing ideological tyranny. That is the progressive socialist side. The Republicans, well, there are big government Republicans as well, George W. Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” was a dog whistle for big government GOP establishment spending. The federal government is not a jobs program; it should be aligned with Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which lays out the duties, roles, responsibilities, and purviews of the federal government…ergo, its spending and structure.
As for the whining of federal government employees upon losing jobs, well, there weren’t many tears for private sector small business owners who watched their lives and livelihoods be destroyed by the government. No one was tearing up when 8,000 troops were sent home for not taking the unconstitutional, illegal, immoral, and unlawful jab, which did more harm to troops than good.
Donald Trump, by way of his Department of Government Efficiency special consultant, who is not taking a paycheck, Elon Musk, is simply forcing the public government to function as the private sector. And why not? After all, it is the private sector that funds the government, and government exists only by the consent of the governed. Well, on November 5, 2024, over 75M gave consent to dismantling and tearing down the temples of the false god of government.
And boy howdy, are the priests and priestesses who have sacrificed our resources upon the altar of bureaucratic beelzebub upset. After all, confusion, chaos, tyranny, and subservience are their calling card. That is why Washington, DC does not function.
Steadfast and Loyal.
