House Approves Massive Spending Package, Includes $15 Million To Electronically Track Cattle

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a 1,050-page Omnibus bill to avoid a potential government shutdown.

The spending package passed by a vote of 339-85.

207 Democrats and 132 Republicans supported the bill.

The bill includes $13 billion in ‘pork-barrel’ spending, Just the News noted.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said Congress is spending more with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) versus Nancy Pelosi’s last fiscal year with the gavel.

“Based on CBO numbers (outlays), Congress will spend tens of billions more in FY-2024 (Johnson-Schumer) than we did in FY-2023 (Pelosi-Schumer) on the 6 appropriation titles included in today’s omnibus. The reductions being touted in this omnibus by Republicans are GIMMICKS,” Massie wrote.

Based on CBO numbers (outlays), Congress will spend tens of billions more in FY-2024 (Johnson-Schumer) than we did in FY-2023 (Pelosi-Schumer) on the 6 appropriation titles included in today’s omnibus.

The reductions being touted in this omnibus by Republicans are GIMMICKS. pic.twitter.com/LM1dU3N9rR

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 6, 2024

“One Republican Senator gets 8 earmarks in the omnibus today. No one voted to add these and no one gets to vote to take these out. We have gone backwards 14 years, to before the 2010 Tea Party wave. The swamp is back to buying Republican votes for the omnibus with earmarks,” Massie said in another post.

One Republican Senator gets 8 earmarks in the omnibus today.

No one voted to add these and no one gets to vote to take these out.

We have gone backwards 14 years, to before the 2010 Tea Party wave.

The swamp is back to buying Republican votes for the omnibus with earmarks. pic.twitter.com/DTUOg2UTPv

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 6, 2024

Just the News reports:

Sen. Rand Paul, R-K.Y., said it’s “disappointing that Republicans are going along with Democrats” in moving forward with the spending bill that has hundreds of earmarks.

“This is a real step backwards, and I will oppose it with every fiber of my being,” Paul said.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said there was “no way any mortal could actually vet all of the earmarks in the 48-hour time period they’ve given us so far.”

“Earmarks are the corrupt currency of Congress. No self-respecting Republican should touch them,” he wrote.

Lee said Senate lawmakers can still request that their earmarks be stripped from the bill.

In particular, Massie warned about a portion of the spending package that allocates $15 million to electronically track cattle.

“Lobbyists got $15 million dollars to implement ELECTRONIC TRACKING of all cattle in the U.S. No law authorizes this! It will be used by the GREEN agenda to limit beef production, and by the corporate meat oligopoly to DOMINATE small ranchers,” Massie said.

Hidden in this week’s Omnibus:

Lobbyists got $15 million dollars to implement ELECTRONIC TRACKING of all cattle in the U.S.

No law authorizes this!

It will be used by the GREEN agenda to limit beef production, and by the corporate meat oligopoly to DOMINATE small ranchers. pic.twitter.com/jNsmDcxUGT

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 6, 2024

“This is effectively central bank digital currency for livestock,” Massie commented.

This is effectively central bank digital currency for livestock.

“Plan to Track Cows Raises Alarm Bells With Republicans”

The omnibus includes text that allocates $15 million to “related infrastructure” needed for electronically tracking livestock.https://t.co/p0IiLiVcSc

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 7, 2024

Per Newsweek:

Republican Representative Mark Green of Tennessee also slammed the bill, writing on X, “Beef cattle production makes up 16.7% of Tennessee’s agricultural sector. I will not vote for an omnibus that gives radical Green New Deal activists the ability to hurt Tennessee’s farmers.”

GOP Senator Mike Lee of Utah wrote on X, “U.S. citizens have survived and thrived for two-and-a-half centuries without centralized electronic tracking of cattle. And yet the #SchumerMinibus spends $15 million on just that—electronic tracking of cattle.”

Newsweek reached out to Massie and Lee via email for comment on Wednesday.

At the moment, most livestock are tracked using tags that display 11-digit numbers, which are visible and trackable.

In January 2023, the Federal Register proposed regulations to mandate the inclusion of radio-frequency identification in ear tags to livestock, adding that these enhanced tags must be “both visually and electronically readable” to be recognized as official for the interstate movement of cattle and bison.

However, the mandate for electronic ear tags for cattle and bison crossing state lines has sparked controversy, specifically among small ranchers as they fear the added costs, which large corporate ranchers can absorb, will drive many smaller operations out of business.