U.S. Rep. Jared Polis told an audience in Loveland Saturday that if he were a congressman, he would know how much money the VA is spending to take care of the nation’s veterans.
Or at least that’s what Polis suggested. According to the Reporter Herald this is what he actually said:
Polis said he would like to see an annual report of veteran spending to determine how the state can better spend the same amount of money while upholding promises made to veterans.
Dude, you already have annual spending reports.
It’s called the budget, Mr. Congressman.
You know, that mammoth document called a bill that you folks in Congress WRITE and VOTE on every year telling government agencies how much they can spend on which programs that do specific things you’ve already directed them to accomplish?
After Congress passes the budget bill, they write and vote on appropriation bills that send the money from the Treasury to the agencies to spend the money how and when Congress told them.
And you, Polis, are a member of this Congress.
Does any of this sound familiar to you?
No? Perhaps this will refresh your memory:
That thingamabob called the Constitution has these clauses that give the House of Representatives the power to raise revenue through taxes, and then spend that money to provide for the common defense and general welfare.
And in case you’ve never read the budget or appropriation bills, Polis, we can assure that these annual documents numbering thousands of pages provide an annual report of veteran spending and every other spending that comes from Washington.
The article goes on to state:
Polis responded to concerns surrounding debt and government spending, saying he is currently in support of a balanced budget amendment that would help monitor congressional spending.
“As long as Congress can avoid it, they’re just going to continue to do what they’ve done,” Polis said.
An embarrassment of riches, this guy is.
There are more than 40 congressional committees that already have the authority to monitor the spending habits of every federal agency under its purview, and trust us, Congress uses that authority constantly to monitor the money they spend.
And as for the Balanced Budget Amendment, it would direct Congress to spend only as much money as it brought into the Treasury through taxes, fees and other revenue. It doesn’t monitor where the dollars are going, you and Congress already have that power, Polis.
Consider using it for once to do your job responsibly.