Pirate's Cove

See, she has Reasons

Ocasio-Cortez only Democrat to vote ‘no’ on spending package

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) was the only House Democrat to vote against a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package on Friday, voting “no” on the measure because of increased funding for defense and federal agencies that oversee immigration.

In a statement Friday afternoon, Ocasio-Cortez said she was concerned about funding in the bill for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in addition to the $858 billion in defense spending.

“I campaigned on a promise to my constituents: to oppose additional expansion and funding for ICE and DHS — particularly in the absence of long-overdue immigration reform. For that reason, as well as the dramatic increase in defense spending which exceeds even President Biden’s request, I voted no on today’s omnibus bill,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

The appropriations bill passed by Congress includes $8.42 billion for ICE, which is $161.1 million more than what was enacted in 2022 and $319.4 million more than what the president requested.

DHS received $86.5 billion in discretionary resources.

Ocasio-Cortez said the “dramatic increase” in spending for those two agencies “cut[s] against the promises our party has made to immigrant communities across the country,” adding that it is the case “especially in light of the lack of progress on DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals], TPS [Temporary Protected Status], and expanding paths to citizenship.”

She’s complaining about what’s considered chump change in terms of Washington spending for ICE, which is something, ie, dealing with invasion, that’s actually mentioned in the Constitution. So is Defense, though, I’ll agree, that funding is bloated.

It’s also easy to Take A Stand when your no vote means absolutely nothing, because the bill was (sadly) going to pass no matter what. If she had any influence and wanted to do the actual job, she would have attempted to rally other House members to vote no. I mean, she couldn’t even work on the other Squad members?

The congresswoman touted provisions included in the omnibus that she helped craft — including an increase in the National Labor Relations Board and funding for community projects in her district — but said she could not vote for them because of her overarching concerns with the bill.

“These victories and many more – such as the inclusion of PUMP [Providing Urgent Maternal Protections] and PWFA [Pregnant Workers Fairness] Acts – are hard-fought wins that we proudly support and would proudly vote for. But tying these provisions to dramatic increases in  surveillance, border patrol forces, and militarized spending after years of deeply disturbing misconduct and lack of any meaningful accountability is decision we find deeply objectionable,” she said.

In other words, she was present for the crafting of that stuff, but, come on, you know she was the person in the meeting adding nothing and asking if there are any more pastries. But, she did help stuff other things into the bill she voted against

(Fox News) The Democratic congresswoman then touted the spending provisions she added to the bill via earmarks that she ultimately voted against.

In the bill for the departments of labor, health and human services, education and related agencies, Ocasio-Cortez set aside $500,000 for “new immigrant community empowerment” in Jackson Heights, New York; $3 million for “clean energy workforce development and supportive services;” and $400,000 to progressive immigration nonprofit Make the Road New York, among other spending.

In the Department of Transportation bill, Ocasio-Cortez backed even more spending, including $1 million to Westchester Square Plaza for highway infrastructure, $1 million to the New York City Department of Transportation for “Astoria Boulevard safety improvements,” and $1 million to the New York Botanical Garden for a “worker’s operation center.”

Ocasio-Cortez also earmarked $2.4 million to the nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Services of Queens for “Casa Neighborhood Housing Services of Queens.”

There is no website for Casa (which means house) Neighborhood Housing…, but, there is one without the Casa that is run by the state of NY and one without Casa that is privately run. Where’s that money going? $900k for illegal aliens. Really, though, she sure didn’t get a lot of pork like so many other Representatives, eh? And not much for her own constituents. Anyhow, it’s a nice bit of performance, so she can later say “I voted against ICE and the military” while also knowing her vote had zero meaning.