Republican spending bill changes criminal to nicer terms

Listen To Story Above

A controversial spending bill introduced by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has drawn criticism for its incorporation of progressive language modifications and funding allocations that appear to contradict traditional Republican positions.

Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) highlighted several concerning language alterations within the bill on Wednesday through her X platform. The modifications include multiple definition changes throughout various sections of the legislation. For example:

It’s legitimately insane the number of selfies Speaker Mike Johnson has posted with Elon and Vivek.

The worst type of grotesque political opportunism.

/div>

Pose for the photo — then backstab them & American Voters behind the camera

It’s truly sick. I doubt he’ll be Speaker for long pic.twitter.com/g3A2yGbrMP

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 18, 2024

Section 102, Page 947: Redefines “homeless individuals” to “individuals experiencing homelessness.”

Section 102, Page 947: Redefines “homeless children” to “children experiencing homelessness.”

Section 111, Page 958: Redefines “out of school youth” to “opportunity youth.”

Section 111, Page 958: Redefines “low-skilled adults” to “adults with foundational skill needs.”

Section Page 1398: Redefines “for criminal offenders in criminal institutions and for institutionalized individuals” to “justice involved individuals” in correctional institutions and for other institutionalized individuals.”

Section 208, Page 1400: Redefines “criminal offender” to “justice-involved individual.”

Adding to the controversy, the bill extends funding for the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) by one year, an agency that has faced accusations of suppressing conservative media outlets. This provision appears on page 139 of the 1,537-page document, which was revealed Tuesday evening shortly before the scheduled House vote.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) expressed his concerns about the bill’s rushed timeline during an appearance on “The Alex Marlow Show” Wednesday. He argued that the last-minute presentation of the continuing resolution was deliberately orchestrated to prevent thorough examination before the Friday government funding deadline.

Mike Johnson’s CR is an insult. Did Republican leadership not get the message of the last election? Scrap this garbage and start over pic.twitter.com/cdwW2fhVvm

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 19, 2024

“By law, Congress is supposed to pass a budget in September,” Hawley said. “They’re supposed to do it in 10 separate budget bills so that we can debate them, read them, pass them, and they haven’t done any of that. They obviously blew right through that September deadline, then they get to the end of the year and it’s a huge pile up and they are counting on the fact that there’s no time left, that nobody will have time to read this. That’s what they want.”

“They are banking on that. They don’t want us to read and find what they jammed into this thing. That’s why they’re now trying to rush a vote tonight,” he added. “Democrats have been doing this for decades, but the fact that Republicans are doing it is just disgusting.”

The senator concluded by warning that the legislation would prove “hugely harmful” to Trump, citing concerns about extensive funding allocations toward Democratic priorities.