Corker: ‘Grotesque’ spending bill is worst he has seen
WASHINGTON – In a blistering speech, Sen. Bob Corker blasted the massive $1.3 trillion spending bill before Congress and called it one of the most “grotesque” pieces of legislation he can remember during his two terms in the Senate.
Corker, a Tennessee Republican who has argued for fiscal responsibility in Washington, said he would not support the spending bill because it would set the stage for $2 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years and does not offset spending increases with cuts.
“This is a grotesque piece of legislation,” Corker said from the Senate floor.
Corker, who is retiring from the Senate at the end of the year, said he had hoped when he first came to Washington that lawmakers would “rise to the occasion” and deal with fiscal issues that are going to haunt future generations. But as he prepares to leave Congress after two terms, he said he is resigned to the fact that that is not going to happen.
“I just don’t see the will here to do the things that need to be done,” he said.
With a deadline fast approaching, the House voted 256-to-167 on Thursday to pass the 2,232-page spending proposal after limited debate and over the fierce objections of conservative and liberal factions alike.
The bill now moves to the Senate, which could vote as early as Thursday. Lawmakers are facing a Friday midnight deadline before the government runs out of funding. If the Senate doesn’t pass the bill before then – and the chamber’s rules allow a single senator to delay proceedings – it will trigger a partial government shutdown.
In his remarks, Corker excoriated Republicans and Democrats alike for backing the bill.
“Not only do I question the soul of my own party, I question the soul of the other party,” he said.
Republicans, Corker said, would never have supported such a bill if the 2016 elections had gone the other way and Democrats had won the White House and majorities in the House and Senate.
He faulted Democrats for screaming about the deficits that could potentially be created by the GOP tax-reform bill that passed last December, but raising no objections to the $2 trillion in debt that could be added under the spending bill.
He slammed both parties for refusing to make tough decisions that are needed to head off a financial crisis that he said is coming.
Instead, he said, they are engaging in “generational theft” by passing along debt to their children and grandchildren.
“The American people do not care about this issue because we’re living fat and happy today and because the crisis has not yet occurred,” he said.
But down the road, “the American people are going to be very unhappy with our lack of responsibility,” he said.
Corker said that while he is optimistic about the young people of the country, “I could not be more discouraged about where we are today with our adult leadership here in Congress and the White House.”