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Congressman Biggs' Statement on House Omnibus Vote

March 22, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the omnibus spending package for Fiscal Year 2018. Congressman Biggs voted against the legislation and issued the following statement:

"Americans want a transparent, open, and fair government. Because the process in developing this $1.3 Trillion spending bill was closed to amendments from members, the American people were prevented from seeing their representatives' positions on important issues such as defunding Planned Parenthood, building the entire wall, securing our border, fully repealing Obamacare, defunding sanctuary cities, increasing congressional oversight for the Mueller investigation, and reducing our national debt. The process favored speed over transparency and good policy.

"Due to the omnibus, the federal government will have to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars to support this spending level. At a time when the federal government is enjoying record revenue, our massive increase in spending outpaces our revenue growth. Our grandchildren will bear the consequences for our dereliction of duty. We are doing nothing to prevent a most-certain, catastrophic economic disaster.

"Republicans were elected to fight for the principles we campaigned on. We promised our constituents that we would reduce the size of government, protect Americans, and adhere to the Constitution. The omnibus breaks those commitments. I am exasperated at the process and the end result. I will continue to fight to keep the promises I made in the upcoming 2019 budget process."

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Congressman Andy Biggs is a first-term Representative from Arizona's Fifth Congressional District, representing parts of Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, and Queen Creek. Congressman Biggs is a member of the House Judiciary and Science, Space, and Technology committees, and is the chairman of the Environment Subcommittee. He lives with his wife, Cindy, in Gilbert.