
Government funding bill gives Congress a raise, sets new rules on ticket sales
By Ray Bogan (Political Correspondent), Snorre Wik (Video Editor)
Congressional leadership released a 1,500-page spending bill to keep the government open through March 14. The legislation was supposed to be a simple continuation of funding while lawmakers negotiate a package that will cover all of 2025.
Media Landscape
See how news outlets across the political spectrum are covering this story. Learn moreBias Summary
- Class lorem condimentum mi massa nam curabitur venenatis dictum hac nunc, adipiscing litora duis facilisi dis quam lacus nisi tempor natoque, hendrerit vel orci vitae eu purus parturient varius feugiat.
- Senectus viverra pulvinar parturient accumsan tellus eros orci tristique maecenas metus nulla id non, eu neque rutrum dis elit cubilia ullamcorper sollicitudin cras mauris luctus.
- Maecenas mus facilisi gravida integer orci vulputate fames in pharetra semper posuere aenean, turpis luctus purus rhoncus ligula lorem mollis efficitur magna cras platea.
- Vivamus lectus auctor porttitor aptent cursus lobortis at magna hac, nisl eu curabitur quisque dictumst iaculis nunc.
- Placerat sagittis dui risus laoreet proin quam inceptos nec est venenatis vulputate habitant penatibus et in, sit dapibus magnis neque semper turpis interdum maximus mi sodales montes felis ut.
Bias Comparison
Bias Distribution
Left
Untracked Bias
The drawn-out negotiation process led to everyone wanting a piece of the pie. The bill now includes dozens of add-ons, many of which have nothing to do with government funding.
“They got a bunch of garbage they want to pass,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters.
The bill contains $100 billion in disaster relief for hurricane recovery in the Southeast and $30 billion in aid for farmers. Those items are just a drop in the bucket of the massive bill.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
As Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, pointed out, in the less than 45 days since the election, lawmakers added $330 billion in deficit spending.
“We’re profoundly unserious on spending,” Roy said.
A raise for members of Congress
Lawmakers are giving themselves a raise for the first time since 2009 by restarting cost of living adjustments. Members currently make $174,000 a year.
According to Investopedia, “a family of four with both adults working needs about $135,000 in income before taxes to make ends meet in Washington, D.C.”
Here’s the catch: Members of Congress have to maintain two households, one in D.C., the other in their home state. That’s not easy considering D.C. is the ninth most expensive city in the country, behind Los Angeles and ahead of Boston.
“If you’ve never given members of Congress a raise, for 14 years they haven’t had a raise, then you can only attract people like me who made enough money in a prior line of work who can afford to come here,” Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., said on C-SPAN.
New rules for ticket sales
The continuing resolution includes new rules for ticket issuers like Ticketmaster and StubHub. The bill requires them to “clearly and conspicuously” display the total price of the ticket and an itemized list of the base price and fees. There’s a similar provision for hotel room prices.
RFK Stadium revitalization
There’s also a measure to transfer the 174-acre RFK stadium campus to the District of Columbia. The federal government currently controls the unused land.
The city wants to knock down the rusting stadium and build a new one. The new stadium will be surrounded by apartments, office buildings, shops and restaurants.
The city hopes to bring the Washington Commanders back to D.C.
Get up to speed on the stories leading the day every weekday morning. Sign up for the newsletter today!
Learn more about our emails. Unsubscribe anytime.
By entering your email, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and acknowledge the Privacy Policy.
Other policy provisions include restrictions on U.S. capital investment in China.
There are also five year extensions for special trade programs with Haiti and Africa. Those include duty-free access for apparel and textile products.
[Ray]
Congressional leadership released a 1,500 page spending bill to keep the government open through March 14. The legislation was supposed to be a simple continuation of funding while lawmakers negotiate a package that will cover all of next year. The drawn-out negotiation process led to everyone wanting a piece of the pie, now it includes dozens of add-ons, many of which have nothing to do with government funding.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-TN: “They got a bunch of garbage they want to pass.”
The bill contains $100 billion in disaster relief for hurricane recovery in the southeast and $30 billion in aid for Farmers. Those items are just a drop in the bucket of the massive bill.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX: “Republicans since the election on November 5, we’re less than, or fewer than 45 days right, and we’ve now added 330 billion by my count, in deficit spending unpaid for it’s just, it’s just, I said earlier, we’re profoundly unserious on spending.”
Here’s what else is inside.
First – lawmakers are giving themselves a raise for the first time since 2009 by restarting cost of living adjustments. Members currently make $174,000 a year.
As Investopedia points out, “a family of four with both adults working needs about $135,000 in income before taxes to make ends meet in Washington, D.C.” Here’s the catch – members of Congress have to maintain two households – one in DC, the other in their home state. That’s not easy considering DC is the 9th most expensive city in the country, behind Los Angeles and ahead of Boston.
Rep. Sean Casten, D-IL: “If you’ve never given members of Congress a raise, for 14 years they haven’t had a raise, then you can only attract people like me who made enough money in a prior line of work who can afford to come here.”
The CR includes new rules for ticket issuers like Ticketmaster and StubHub. It will require them to “clearly and conspicuously” display the total price of the ticket and an itemized list of the base price and fees. There’s a similar provision for hotel room prices.
There’s also a measure to transfer the 174-acre RFK stadium campus to the District of Columbia; the unused land is currently controlled by the federal government. The city wants to knock down the rusting stadium and build a new one that will be surrounded by apartments, office buildings, shops and restaurants. They hope to bring the Washington Commanders back to DC.
Other policy provisions include restrictions on US capital investment in China and five year extensions for special trade programs with Haiti and Africa that include duty free access for apparel and textile products.
Media Landscape
See how news outlets across the political spectrum are covering this story. Learn moreBias Summary
- Dis class accumsan efficitur lacinia est porta sit scelerisque urna ante, curabitur viverra mus tempus euismod diam inceptos varius elit enim, ullamcorper habitant volutpat ipsum ridiculus consequat mollis dictumst in.
- Libero habitasse cursus mollis platea nec netus volutpat malesuada fermentum gravida elementum sagittis aliquet, ridiculus sapien aptent euismod venenatis magnis amet pretium eros pellentesque justo.
- Fermentum convallis tempus commodo sollicitudin volutpat vehicula hendrerit ex tellus ut molestie felis, faucibus justo consequat quam imperdiet class egestas placerat lacus eros montes.
- Fringilla dui turpis per dolor rhoncus mattis orci lacus urna, parturient ridiculus porta eleifend lectus nibh ante.
- Senectus tincidunt maecenas adipiscing torquent facilisis diam quis semper auctor sit vehicula a taciti ultricies ex, mi odio purus sapien ut faucibus pharetra augue efficitur sem suscipit natoque nunc.
Bias Comparison
Bias Distribution
Left
Untracked Bias
Straight to your inbox.
By entering your email, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and acknowledge the Privacy Policy.