HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Washington, Dec 11, 2007 - Somewhere in the Capitol, the Majority is secretly crafting a massive, year-end spending bill, just two weeks before Christmas – and more than two months after the start of the new fiscal year. Completely shut out of negotiations by Democratic leaders who promised a “fair and open” 110th Congress, House Republicans have launched a virtual “Butcher Shop” to shine a spotlight on scores of wasteful earmarks, pork-barrel spending, and harmful policy that will undoubtedly find their way into the Majority’s “omnibus” spending bill.

From a Majority that earlier this year loaded pork spending for spinach farmers, tropical fish, and peanut storage into a bill to fund American troops fighting and defeating al Qaeda in Iraq, the fact that more pork is on its way is not terribly surprising – and Republicans will be ready to highlight new instances of wasteful and irresponsible spending. But the Butcher Shop also will take aim at harmful policy sure to make its way into the massive spending bill. Though no one – not even the Majority – is sure of exactly what will be in the final bill, here are some examples of sweeping, harmful policy changes likely to make their way into the year-end spending legislation – provisions already facing a veto threat at the White House:

• Weakening Sanctions Against Cuba: House- and Senate-passed Financial Services/General Government and Agricultural appropriations bills (H.R. 2829 and H.R. 3161) weaken sanctions that deny economic resources to the Castro regime in Cuba.

• Overturning the Mexico City Policy: House and Senate versions of a State Department appropriations bill (H.R. 2764) permit grants and subsidies for organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning, overturning the Bush Administration’s “Mexico City” policy.

• Providing Federally-Funded Benefits for Domestic Partners: Before being stripped from the House-passed Financial Services/General Government appropriations bill (H.R. 2829), a provision would have allowed unmarried, cohabitating couples in the District of Columbia to qualify for federal benefits on the same basis as legally-married couples. That provision could be brought back to life in the Majority’s omnibus legislation.

• Expanding Controversial Davis-Bacon Wage Mandate: A provision in a House-passed Homeland Security appropriations bill (H.R. 2638) would expand the Depression-era Davis-Bacon Act to all federal projects funded under the bill. This controversial mandate on employers could increase disaster recovery costs and delay disaster recovery projects.

• Ending an IRS Private Debt Collection Program: The Majority’s spending bill could limit funding to implement the Internal Revenue Service’s use of private collection firms to collect unpaid taxes. The private debt collection initiative is expected to collect $1.3 billion in taxes owed to the government that would otherwise go uncollected.

• Undermining Regulatory Reform. A provision in a House-passed Financial Services/General Government appropriations bill (H.R. 2829) would kill efforts to increase the quality, accountability, and transparency of the federal government’s regulatory review process. This provision would result in a fox-guarding-the-henhouse approach to approving federal rules and regulations which affect every facet of the economy.

And the list goes on and on… In a news conference today, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) blasted the inclusion of these policy changes in the bill being written in secret by the Majority: