Cotton Opposes Omnibus Spending Bill

Statement

Congressman Tom Cotton (R-Dardanelle) released the following statement announcing his opposition to the omnibus spending bill because of its cuts to military pensions and wasteful spending:

"I cannot support this budget-busting $1.1 trillion spending bill, which piles another $45 billion onto our $17 trillion national debt in violation of the spending caps that took effect just months ago. Also, the bill shortchanges rural counties by funding many wasteful, superfluous programs instead of Payments in Lieu of Taxes. This program supports counties like Montgomery, Newton, Johnson, Franklin, Garland, Yell, Polk, Crawford, and Scott, which contain large amounts of federal land. These counties will lose revenue needed to pay for schools, roads, and jails and will potentially be forced to raise local taxes on hard-working Arkansas families.

"Worse yet, this legislation does little to fix the unprecedented cuts to military pensions contained in last month's budget agreement. Our troops risk their lives and endure great hardship for our country, but this bill singles them out for discriminatory, retroactive pension cuts.

"Our military should not be the first and only group to see such cuts. And Arkansans should not settle for the short end of the stick, more deficit spending, and potentially higher local taxes. I oppose this legislation, and I will keep fighting for spending discipline and for Arkansas's best interests."

Source