Congress passes massive spending bill that gives salary increases
WASHINGTON, D.C.- According to reports, on Wednesday, March 9th, Congress released a $1.5 trillion omnibus bill that will allocate $5.9 billion of fiscal 2022 Legislative Branch funding to increasing the allowance and salaries of their staff.
As Congress brings back earmarks, the gateway drug for more spending is back in business. https://t.co/890Y90Cjrc
— Garry Smith (@GarryRSmith) March 12, 2022
As Americans face an economic crisis, historic inflation, and surging gas prices, this bill does absolutely nothing to help those who are truly in need.
The legislation would grant $774.4 million for the Members Representational Allowance, which essentially funds the House budgets for lawmakers, including staffer salaries and $1.7 billion for House operations.
According to a bill summary by the House Appropriations Committee:
“This $134.4 million, or 21 percent, boost over the previous fiscal year marks the largest increase in the MRA appropriation since it was authorized in 1996.”
While the bill does not technically provide a pay raise for members of Congress, who earn an annual salary of $174,000, house staffers who members use to run errands, and family members of Congressional lawmakers who are often put on payroll, will see a pay increase.
The measure would also provide the Senate with $1.1 billion for salaries and operations and $7 million for Senate intern salaries. The Capitol Police department would receive $602.5 million, which is $87 million more than it was provided in the 2021 fiscal year.
Congress reaches finish line on spending package that omits aid for COVID tests, treatment https://t.co/mVoniYbd5M via @WIExaminer #VoteBlue2022 #IStandWithUkraine
— swell (@swell) March 12, 2022
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), chair of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, said in a statement:
“This bill is essential to keeping our democracy and the legislative branch of government functioning in a safe and accessible manner. At a time when the U.S. Capitol and the Capitol Police continue to operate amidst immense challenges, this agreement ensures they have the resources and staffing to protect the Capitol complex.”
Reportedly, the 2,741-page omnibus spending package is also loaded with funding “pet projects” for lawmakers.
A list of all the earmarks attached to the bill spans 367 pages. For example, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Ed Markey secured $995,000 for “Grid Resilience and Equity in the Energy Transition” research at the University of Massachusetts.
The Heritage Foundation reported that this funding will allow the left to redistribute taxpayer dollars to fix alleged inequality in the energy system. Warren and Markey also have a $500,000 earmark for Worcester State University to increase diversity and inclusion for STEM students to study climate change.
In another example, Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Sen. Jack Reed secured $1.6 million of federal taxpayer funding for Roger Williams University for the “development of equitable growth of shellfish aquaculture in Rhode Island.”
In another example, New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman was able to secure $496,000 in the name of “health equity” for “pool improvements” in his home district. According to Bowman, these are “essential capital improvements” to YMCA pools.
Congress passes $1.5 trillion spending bill to avert government shutdown, provide billions to Ukraine https://t.co/oHncpIh0Lu via @nbcnews
— John Staehle (@staehle_john) March 12, 2022
The massive spending bill is on its ways to President Joe Biden’s desk after the Senate cleared it late on Thursday, March 10th, on a 68-31 vote.
As the bill heads to Biden’s desk for final approval, surging inflation is hitting all sectors of the economy and Americans are facing a real struggle. While the inflation rate was 1.4 percent when Biden entered the White House, the inflation rate has since soared to 7.9 percent in February, which is the highest level since 1982.
According to a report by Moody’s Analytics, inflation is costing the average household $276 more per month, or about $1,000 per quarter.
Report: Biden cut lines from State of the Union Speech supporting stock trading ban for Congress
March 4th, 2022
WASHINGTON, DC – President Biden reportedly cut lines from his State of the Union address, backtracking on endorsing a bipartisan plan to ban members of Congress from trading in stocks.
Interesting
Report: Biden Admin Cut Line from SOTU Speech Endorsing Ban on Congress Trading Stocks https://t.co/h4OkaYgOUV
— Eric 🇺🇸🌴🍊 (@EROTHCJ5) March 2, 2022
An early draft of the speech included a message of support for banning members of Congress from holding or trading in personal stocks, according to a report in The Washington Post.
When asked about the change on Monday, aides said the economic portion of the President’s address would focus on making more goods in America, reducing prices, promoting competition, and removing employment barriers.
Restricting Congress members from the stock market became popular with Americans and some lawmakers following the revelation in late 2021 that 54 members of Congress failed to properly report their financial trades as mandated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, also known as the STOCK Act.
There is presently a law on the books that requires lawmakers to publicly disclose stock transactions and other financial dealings made by themselves or their immediate family to combat insider trading.
We live in a country where congress members can openly engage in insider trading and fraud, but fugitive task forces are activated to find a man who sang for $35 and a sandwich 😐 https://t.co/EaHBDKNEql
— Clever Pseudonym (@minimoogles) March 3, 2022
Media outlet Insider spent hundreds of hours over five months reviewing nearly 9,000 financial-disclosure reports for every sitting lawmaker and their top-ranking staffers.
From December 13 to December 18, 2021, Insider published more than two-dozen articles revealing 57 members of Congress and 182 senior-level congressional staffers who have violated a federal conflicts-of-interest law.
The investigation also determined that 75 Congress members held stocks in COVID-19 vaccine makers Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, or Pfizer in 2020. Insider pointed out that many of the lawmakers conducted these transactions during the early weeks of the pandemic.
Can anyone justify Congress failing to even consider a ban on congressional insider trading until 2022?
Having raised the issue of congressional corruption for years, we’re glad to see Congress finally take action.
Several questions remain overlooked. /1 https://t.co/TfYaEUNzzv
— Shahid Buttar for Congress (@ShahidForChange) March 1, 2022
The President’s removal of mentioning the ban in Tuesday’s State of the Union speech signals that he is punting the issue back to Congress and offers an opportunity for Republicans to make the ban a central issue in the upcoming midterm elections in their effort to regain control of the House.
The refusal to support the ban is also in conflict with his own former boss, former President Barack Obama, who urged Congress to send him a similar bill during his State of the Union address in 2012.
During the speech, President Obama said:
“Send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress; I will sign it tomorrow. Let’s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact.”
Stopping short of a full ban, President Obama eventually signed the STOCK Act, clarifying that it was illegal for members of Congress to engage in insider trading and also setting the disclosure rule.
The push for the ban picked up speed when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke out against it in December. At the time she stated:
“We’re a free-market economy. They should be able to participate in that.”
Yes Congress does insider trading. pic.twitter.com/F5yMGa3koJ
— Lee the Delivery Guy (@Lee79362100) March 3, 2022
Although she had recently changed her tune and offered support for the ban, her initial refusal to support the idea gave fuel to the push to establish the ban.
According to Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) last year that would ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks:
“The news of the speaker’s comments blew the lid off the issue.”
Start with Congress… how about all the politicians who made insider trading moves just before the shutdowns?! https://t.co/QEDAHLjih6
— wayne (@WayneCafariella) March 2, 2022
Banning members of Congress from trading stocks is popular among American citizens, according to a Trafalgar Group survey.
The survey found that 76 percent of Americans believe lawmakers have an “unfair advantage” when it comes to the stock market. Only five percent support permitting the practice.
Pelosi family either has really good timing or inside info on stock trades, growing net worth to over $315 million
October 14, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC- When the founding fathers developed our system of government, it was never intended as a means for our political leaders to get wealthy. Yet here we are. The House and Senate are both chock full of very wealthy people, in many cases multi-millionaires.
One of the more flagrant examples of turning a political career into exorbitant wealth is Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has served in Congress for nearly 34 years. During that time, Pelosi has managed to amass a net worth of $315 million as of 2020, according to a Watters World investigation by Fox News’ Jesse Watters.
Watters started looking into Pelosi after her pork-laden improperly named “infrastructure” bill failed to gain traction in Congress as members of her own caucus couldn’t reach an agreement. Watters condemned Pelosi’s policies, slamming them for making it “harder and harder for average Americans to accumulate wealth,” while saddling them with confiscatory taxes and “destroying the dollar with reckless spending.”
While average Americans have difficulty accumulating wealth, members of Congress have no such issues, especially Pelosi. While her salary as Speaker earns her a salary in the low six-figure range, Crazy Nancy sits as one of the wealthiest members of Congress.
Watters was curious to know what Pelosi’s secret sauce was and the answer came in the name of her husband, Paul Pelosi.
“After they got married, Paul opened up a real estate and venture capital firm. And through his connections, he pushed Nancy into the political world, helping her get elected to Congress in 1987,” Watters said.
“The couple has timed the market perfectly over the years, while Nancy’s been a Washington insider,” Watters said. “Real estate, stocks, the Pelosi’s always know what the right investment is.”
Among the Pelosi’s holdings include a mansion in Napa Valley worth a tidy $25 million, a waterfront condominium in Washington, D.C. worth over $2 million, and a brick mansion in California’s Pacific Heights. Not bad for low six figures.
Watters found however that wasn’t all of the Pelosi’s real estate fortune. Watters noted that Paul Pelosi owns commercial properties in San Francisco which “combined [are] worth up to $50 million.”
The year 2018 began to accelerate the Pelosi’s wealth, when it exploded.
“That year, her financial disclosure report revealed a net worth of over $114 million. IN 2019, Pelosi’s assets total up to a whopping $271 million and in 2020, those numbers went up even more to as high as $315 million,” an increase of nearly 300%.
Not bad for three years of investment.
The Pelosi’s haven’t only earned their money in the real estate market.
“In 2007, Visa worried the new Democrat Congress would target their swipe fees, costing them billions. So they hired a team of lobbyists who descended on Pelosi,” Watters said. “”Visa’s CEO personally met with her. She got donations from them. One of his advisers left and became a Visa lobbyist himself.”
After this, an amazing stroke of luck befell the Pelosi’s.
“Suddenly, Paul Pelosi got a phone call from his broker. He was in luck,” Watters continued. “Paul was offered a prescreened invite to get in early on Visa’s $18 billion IPO. Did Nancy and her husband hesitate? No, they bought between $1 million and $5 million worth of Visa stock.
But it gets better. While Pelosi was speaker, bills that would have hurt Visa’s stock price were blocked in the House, with Visa’s shares going up over 200 percent during the time, making the Pelosi’s a fortune on paper.”
“In January [2021], the Pelosi’s got a million dollars of Tesla stock right before Joe Biden announced electric car incentives in June. The Pelosi family cashed in big time just before Congress was set to pounce on Big Tech. Mr. Pelosi exercised options on Google’s parent company, Alphabet, making an easy $5.3 million.”
In most places that is called “insider trading.” Remember last year when former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler and others were excoriated by the media for seizing on the COVID-19 pandemic by making some convenient stock moves? Pelosi makes Loeffler look like an amateur, yet all we hear are crickets.
But wait, there’s more.
“In March, Paul Pelosi exercised $2 million worth of Microsoft options, just two weeks before the tech giant got a $22 billion contract to equip the U.S. Army with high tech headsets,” Watters said.
“The Pelosi’s have never been indicted for insider trading, but her marriage investments and access, combined with extremely fortunate timing, have created a lot of suspicions [emphasis added] All we’re doing is following the money, and there sure is a lot of it,” Watters concluded.
Remember this the next time Pelosi talks about “millionaires and billionaires.”
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