The 'power of the purse' has long been an important feature of the Legislative Branch, as the Congress can tell the Executive Branch what it can or cannot do with taxpayer dollars.
One way to achieve that in a Congressional spending measure is by stating that 'none of the funds' in a bill can be used for specific items - and the Omnibus spending bill rolled out this week by House-Senate negotiatiors has 454 of those restrictions.
What follows is just a sample of some of those spending restrictions from the Omnibus spending bill to be voted on by the House on Wednesday - you can see the full text of the bill, which is formally known as the "Consolidated Appropriations Act".
Some of them are major items, some are local in nature, others are just downright obscure in the whole scheme of things - this list is not an effort to rank them in importance.
But they are all in this bill for a reason, like not touching the $1 bill - someone in the Congress didn't like what the Obama Administration might or might not do on the subject.
Here we go:
Page 463: "None of the funds appropriated in this Act or otherwise available to the Department of the Treasury or the Bureau of Engraving and Printing may be used to redesign the $1 Federal Reserve note."
Page 321: "None of the funds appropriated in this, or any other Act, may be obligated or expended by the United States Government for the direct personal benefit of the President of Afghanistan."
Page 196: "None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to effectuate the hosting of official Chinese visitors at facilities belonging to or utilized by NASA."
Page 251: "None of the funds in this Act may be available for the purchase by the Department of Defense (and its departments and agencies) of welded shipboard anchor and mooring chain 4 inches in diameter and under unless the anchor and mooring chain are manufactured in the United States from components which are substantially manufactured in the United States."
Page 185: "None of the funds made available in this Act shall be used in any way whatsoever to support or justify the use of torture by any official or contract employee of the United States Government"
Page 1062: "none of the funds made available to the Architect of the Capitol in this Act may be used to eliminate or restrict guided tours of the United States Capitol which are led by employees and interns of offices of Members of Congress and other offices of the House of Representatives and Senate."
Page 461: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used by the Internal Revenue Service to target groups for regulatory scrutiny based on their ideological beliefs."
Page 1138: "none of the funds appropriated in this paragraph shall be available for acquisition of furniture, furnishings, or generators for other departments and agencies."
Page 152: "None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used by Federal prisons to purchase cable television services, or to rent or purchase audiovisual or electronic media or equipment used primarily for recreational purposes."
Page 82: "None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel who provide nonrecourse marketing assistance loans for mohair under section 1201 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008"
Page 541: "none of the funds provided in this Act shall be used to consolidate or close small rural and other small post offices in fiscal year 2014."
Page 1455: "None of the funds provided to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation may be used to fund any overtime costs in excess of $35,000 for any individual employee"
Page 940: "None of the funds made available in this title may be used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control."
Page 180: "None of the funds provided by this Act shall be available to promote the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products"
Page 1127: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used for a project or program named for an individual serving as a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner of the United States House of Representatives."
Page 1451: "none of the funds provided in this Act may be used to support any route on which Amtrak offers a discounted fare of more than 50 percent off the normal peak fare"
Page 577: "None of the funds made available in this or any other Act may be used to pay for the painting of a portrait of an officer or employee of the Federal government, including the President, the Vice President, a member of Congress (including a Delegate or a Resident Commissioner to Congress), the head of an executive branch agency (as defined in section 133 of title 41, United States Code), or the head of an office of the legislative branch"
Page 53: "none of the funds provided in this account shall be available for the purchase of infant formula except in accordance with the cost containment and competitive bidding requirements specified in section 17"
Page 71: "None of the funds made available to the Department of Agriculture by this Act may be used to acquire new information technology systems or significant upgrades, as determined by the Office of the Chief Information Officer"
Page 192: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to send or otherwise pay for the attendance of more than 50 employees from a Federal department or agency at any single conference occurring outside the United States unless such conference is a law enforcement training or operational conference for law enforcement personnel and the majority of Federal employees in attendance are law enforcement personnel stationed outside the United States."
Page 73: "None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for first-class travel by the employees of agencies funded by this Act"
Page 81: "none of the funds provided in this Act, may be used by an executive branch agency to produce any prepackaged news story intended for broadcast or distribution in the United States unless the story includes a clear notification within the text or audio of the prepackaged news"
Page 156: "None of the funds made available under this Act, other than for the national instant criminal background check system established under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note), may be used by a Federal law enforcement officer to facilitate the transfer of an operable firearm to an individual if the Federal law enforcement officer knows or suspects that the individual is an agent of a drug cartel, unless law enforcement personnel of the United States continuously monitor or control the firearm at all times."
Page 275: "None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used for the procurement of ball and roller bearings other than those produced by a domestic source and of domestic origin."
Page 288: "None of the funds appropriated by this Act shall be used for the support of any nonappropriated funds activity of the Department of Defense that procures malt beverages and wine with nonappropriated funds for resale (including such alcoholic beverages sold by the drink) on a military installation located in the United States unless such malt beverages and wine are procured within that State, or in the case of the District of Columbia, within the District of Columbia, in which the military installation is located"
Page 197: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to maintain or establish a computer network unless such network blocks the viewing, downloading, and exchanging of pornography"
Page 250: "None of the funds made available by this Act shall be used in any way, directly or indirectly, to influence congressional action on any legislation or appropriation matters pending before the Congress."
Page 267: "None of the funds appropriated in this Act may be obligated or expended by the Secretary of a military department in contravention of the provisions of section 352 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 to adopt any new camouflage pattern design or uniform fabric for any combat or camouflage utility uniform or family of uniforms for use by an Armed Force."
Page 295: "None of the funds appropriated or made available in this Act shall be used to reduce or disestablish the operation of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron of the Air Force Reserve, if such action would reduce the WC–130 Weather Reconnaissance mission below the levels funded in this Act"
Page 325: "None of the funds made available in this Act shall be used to transition elements of the 18th Aggressor Squadron out of Eielson Air Force Base"
Page 326: "None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement an enrollment fee for the TRICARE for Life program"
Page 566: "None of the funds appropriated by this or any other Act may be used by an agency to provide a Federal employee’s home address to any labor organization except when the employee has authorized such disclosure or when such disclosure has been ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction"
Page 665: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to amend the oath of allegiance required by section 337 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1448)"
Page 1064: "None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to provide an aggregate number of more than 50 printed copies of any edition of the United States Code to all offices of the House of Representatives"
Page 307: "None of the funds made available under this Act may be distributed to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or its subsidiaries."
Page 309: "None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Secretary of Defense to take beneficial occupancy of more than 3,000 parking spaces (other than handicap-reserved spaces) to be provided by the BRAC 133 project"
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