“I agree with Chairman Lewis that omnibus bills ‘undermine’ the budget and appropriations process,” said Hensarling.  “Omnibus measures often hide hundreds of billions of dollars of spending in thousands of pages legislation, shielding them from proper debate.   If we are committed to bringing transparency to the appropriations process, we should avoid omnibus bills at all costs.”

First used in 1950, the Omnibus Appropriations Act was an experiment aimed at improving legislative efficiency.  Although not intended to be a permanent budget tool, Omnibus bills have been passed 9 times over the past 11 years.  Should FY07 spending bills not be passed, about 14 Cabinet-level agencies are left to be funded by the Continuing Resolution (CR) through Nov. 17.

“Each spending bill should be voted on individually on its own merit to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent appropriately,” said Hensarling.  “If timing is the central issue of concern, we should consider a long-term CR for all of FY2007.”