Alabama had President Trump’s ear on Tuesday when he hosted a meeting at the White House for Republican appropriators.
Present at the meeting, where members shared their concerns and wishes as they relate to the process of funding the government, were Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as well as Reps. Martha Roby (R-Montgomery) and Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville), who both sit on the House Appropriations Committee.
The members spoke specifically of their wish to avoid another omnibus spending package like the one passed in March, six months after the fiscal year started.
“We’re early,” Shelby said of his committee. “We’re making progress. We’re hoping to stay the course.”
“But you saying – and you’ve said it several times – that you’re not signing a big omnibus,” Shelby said, addressing the president, “I think, resonates with all of us, and it makes sense to the American people.”
Aderholt, like Shelby, said that he was encouraged by President Trump’s commitment to avoiding another last- minute omnibus.
“Well, let me just say your statement a few months ago that the omnibus bill has got to stop, that went a long way,” he said. “And I think that sent a message to our Democrat colleagues that we have to got to move forward with this, get the bills and not waste taxpayers’ money.”
Roby also offered a compelling case for properly funding the government
“… Most of the people – most of the members in the House have never seen regular order when it comes to an appropriations process,” she said.
“And so we spend a lot of time back in our districts talking to our constituents about the importance of having this open, transparent process so it doesn’t end up with four people in a room negotiating how to fund our government; that the voices of the people that we represent are heard in the bills that we pass by having a process going through committee and then to the full floor.”
To keep with regular order guidelines, all appropriations bills must be enacted by October 1, the beginning of Fiscal Year 2019.
@jeremywbeaman is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News
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