Obama Policy Czars Defunded in Spending Bill

Oh, yes, Mr. President, it really is a new era.

The amendment, offered by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), specifically targets Obama’s “climate czar” by blocking funding for the assistant to the president for energy and climate change, the position's official title. The amendment would block funding for the 'czars' through the end of the fiscal year, when the spending bill would run out. The underlying bill also includes a provision to block funding for the position.

"I think this sends a strong signal to the president that we are tired of him running this shadow government, where they have got these czars that are literally circumventing the accountability and scrutiny that goes with Senate confirmation," Scalise said after the vote.

It also defunds the czars for ObamaCare implementation, green jobs, auto policy, urban affairs, TARP, Gitmo, and diversity at the FCC. Of course, this is the same spending bill that Obama has already said he would veto. Anyone else suspect that he'll be even more bent out of shape by having cronies denied jobs than by the $100 billion in cuts?

By the way, the vote for this was 249-171, which means that several Democrats voted for it. Instead of calling it a bipartisan vote, though the Hill headlines it "the GOP voted..." and fails to mention the Democrats anywhere in the article. Okay, I guess it's not that much of a new era after all.

UPDATE: Also on the chopping block: Last night, in another bipartisan vote (though with only two Democrats), the House voted to forbid the FCC from using any funds to implement its December net neutrality order.

FCC issued the order in December even though Congress rejected net neutrality legislation and the DC Circuit Court of Appeals already rejected previous FCC net neutrality rules. It was typical Obama Administration end run around the Constitution.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 07:17 AM

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