Congressman Smith Statement on Omnibus Appropriations Bill
Washington D.C. – Congressman Adam Smith issued the following statement on the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus bill passed by the House and Senate today:
December 18, 2015
“Today I voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act. The bill provides for $1.067 trillion of discretionary spending, following the two-year budget agreement signed into law in October 2015, as well as $73.693 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds. The Omnibus bill passed by the House and the Senate today funds our national and economic security for the next year, and is an important step towards Congress fulfilling its responsibility to the American people to meet our fiscal obligations for the next year.
“The Omnibus bill includes funding for programs that invest in our future and support education, encourage economic growth, and modernize our infrastructure. It is reassuring that Republicans showed a willingness to compromise and removed a number of ideological riders that were debated throughout the failed FY 2016 appropriations process earlier this year. This Omnibus bill and the certainty it will provide our economy, the Department of Defense, and the entire federal government is preferable to governing from budget crisis to budget crisis. The agreement provides a one-year window of opportunity to address our core budget problems in the long-term.
“Congress, together with the American people, must have an honest conversation about the budget realities that we face. We must use the time that this Omnibus bill provides to engage in productive conversations to agree to a long-term spending plan that supports the middle class and grow our economy.”