The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the budget this afternoon, so floor votes can be held tomorrow and Thursday. Still no idea what the $500 million in new taxes will be (corporate income, sales, or smokes and drinks).
Amid all of it, however, is a phrase I don’t remember seeing in previous budget documents, but hope to see more in the future. On page I-9 of the money report (page 78 of the pdf), in explaining the elimination of the Center for Prevention of School Violence, it says:
These functions are not part of the core mission of the Department.
Say those words out loud: “not part of the core mission of the Department.”
Savor them.
Now ask yourself why that phrase doesn’t show up more often.
