Congress Doesn’t Have a Moment to Waste – Poison Pill Omnibus Riders Must Be Removed
March 20, 2018
Congress Doesn’t Have a Moment to Waste – Poison Pill Omnibus Riders Must Be Removed
Statement of Lisa Gilbert, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Public Citizen
As the clock ticks down to the federal funding deadline, we are concerned that, according to the latest press reports, a large number of poison pill riders remain in play in negotiations. Once again, Congress is facing a shutdown that no one wants in part due to attempts by lawmakers to insert measures into the omnibus that are too controversial to pass on their own merits. With the March 23 funding deadline just days away, Congress doesn’t have a moment to waste, and any measures that hurt the public must be removed from the spending bill immediately so that a clean omnibus can proceed.
Public Citizen is particularly concerned about poison pill riders that would make sweeping changes to our campaign finance system, potentially unleashing an additional $1 billion in secret political spending and barring agencies like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from moving forward with commonsense reforms to shine a light on dark corporate money. Also of concern are toxic riders that would harm our environment, our financial system and more. It’s time for lawmakers to do their jobs and pass a clean budget free of poison pills.
Visit CleanBudget.org for the latest news and updates on inappropriate riders. This week, the site is being updated in real time.
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