Outside conservative groups that routinely clash with the Republican leadership are making it clear they oppose the $1 trillion end-of-the-year spending package being debated in Congress this week.
The details of the massive spending bill were finally released late Tuesday, and Congress is expected to vote on it Thursday.
Opposing the legislation, some conservatives are pointing to the riders included in the bill, which they say amount to handouts to special interests.
“Christmas has come early for the big spenders in Congress who have been experiencing long-term withdrawal from the earmark ban,” Club for Growth VP of government affairs Andy Roth told lawmakers in a memo. “This 1,603-page bill provides a ‘fix’ for these jonesing politicians who carry water for their special interest buddies.”
At Heritage Action for America, spokesman Dan Holler said the bill should be opposed for not doing anything to stop President Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration.
“Importantly,” Holler wrote in a memo, “the bill does nothing to block President Obama’s unilateral, unlawful actions which include granting quasi-legal status, work permits and Social Security numbers to those who are in the country illegally.”
Holler also listed off a number of spending increases included in the bill. “While there are some positive elements of the colossal bill, including language that prevents a taxpayer bailout of insurance companies under Obamacare, they cannot overcome the totality of the bill’s aforementioned flaws,” he said.
Jenny Beth Martin, the co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, also referenced Obama’s executive order on immigration as why the bill should be opposed.
“I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that it’s taken the Republicans all of 35 days to drop that ball in spectacularly disappointing fashion,” Martin said in a Wednesday statement.
“Make no mistake,” Martin added, “this bill DOES fund Obama’s executive amnesty, and so much more.”