Welcome to Friday Financial Focus!

Each week, we bring you a round-up of the headlines that impact your bottom line. Some you may have heard about, and others may have gotten buried in the chaos of the week. Either way, they all matter when it comes to managing your money!

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Pisces Resource Forecast Workshop (February 15)

This is a season of rebellion and release!

Pisces is the final zodiac season before the wheel begins anew. It is all about dreams, endings, and releasing what no longer serves, but this season has an extra spice to its flow. Think more raging rapids than gentle stream, but that's not a bad thing!

You just need the tools to harness this energy as we navigate the white waters of this dynamic season of transformation. Thankfully, we have a helpful workshop and workbook to support you on this journey like a secure life vest.

We all have Pisces somewhere in our charts and this transit can help you flush whatever needs to go down the drain. Consider this an emotional (and perhaps physical) cleanout of cosmic clutter.

Join Rebellious Resources for this Pisces Resource Forecast Workshop* to swim through this season with purpose!

During this workshop, we'll focus on:

• ♓ The basics and qualities of Pisces season
• ♓ The opportunities and challenges of this season's astrology
• ♓ Key dates for aligning your goals
• ♓ Tools to navigate this emotional season with purpose and clarity

Get the Deets

• Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026
• Time: 2:30 pm EST
• Where: Online (Zoom link will be sent prior to event)

Pisces Resource Forecast Workshop

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This Week's Financial Focus

Last week, we discussed a potential partial government shutdown. As was expected, Congress did miss the funding deadline, and some agencies did experience a temporary shutdown. However, it was quickly resolved as both the House and Senate passed the 5 remaining full year appropriations bills that would keep the majority of government agencies funded through September 30, 2026.

One spending bill only received a 2-week continuing resolution (CR): the Department of Homeland Security. That is where we will focus this week because the fight is far from over. We also went into this topic more extensively and looked at some if the astrology behind it on our new YouTube series Tower Thoughts. Go watch and subscribe!

Show Me the Money!

First, let's do a quick review of what exactly the federal budget is, how it came to be, and how it gets passed.

The Treasury Department writes the checks to pay America’s bills, but the Constitution gives Congress (specifically the House of Representatives) control over the budget. This is because they most closely represent the “People” of “We, the People”. Article 1, Section, 9, Clause 7 of the Constitution, otherwise known as the Appropriations Clause and Accounts Clause states:

The U.S. had a surplus budget until around 1850, but then ran into a deficit for the next 50 years due to several factors, including the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and multiple financial panics and depressions. This was also a time when the economy operated without a central bank, thanks to Andrew Jackson (the 2nd worst U.S. president in history.)

War debt from World War I prompted ratification of 16th Amendment, implementing a permanent federal income tax, but how do we account for and spend this new source of funding?

Who's Minding the Store?

ENTER: The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. This act assigned responsibility of preliminary budget-setting to the President, but Congress still has the final say. The Executive branch creates a wish list of appropriations and sends it to Congress. Congress then decides what would be approved. This created a framework for the modern budget process and was intended to streamline the spending discussions between the Executive and Legislative branches.

On the downside, this act also significantly expanded the size, scope, and powers of the Executive Branch, something which the framers had sought to curtail so we didn't return to the days of a monarchy. *sigh...*

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 also established two additional offices to help craft the budget and oversee how funds were used. The Bureau of the Budget, now Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, helps the Executive Branch draft the preliminary budget. This office is part of the Executive Branch, and is currently run by Russell Vought, a Heritage Foundation acolyte and Project 2025 puppeteer.

The second is the General Accounting Office, now Government Accounting Office, or GAO. GAO is an independent agency that acts as an auditor reporting to Congress. It is run by the Comptroller General of the U.S., who is confirmed by the Senate and serves a 15-year term. Orice Williams Brown, former GAO Chief Operating Officer, is the current Acting Comptroller General after the previous CG's term expired.

I'm Just a Bill

So, how does a budget get passed? Just like any other bill! The House debates on a bill until they can get a vote to pass it. The bill then heads over to the Senate, which does their own mark-ups, votes, and sends that version back over to the House. It’s lather, rinse, repeat until both agree on a finalized bill, which then goes to the President to sign.

Here's the catch: The "budget" is not one single bill. It’s actually 12 separate bills that each cover a specific portion of the government and the budgets for those agencies. That is why we can have a partial government shutdown if only some of the bills have not been passed, or a full government shutdown if all of the bills have not been passed.

Six of the 12 bills were passed earlier in the year, thus not affected by the current partial shutdown:

• Agriculture - Dept. of Agriculture; Food and Drug Administration
• Commerce, Justice, and Science - Dept. of Commerce; Dept. of Justice; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Science Foundation
• Energy and Water - Dept. of Energy; Corps of Engineers; Bureau of Reclamation
• Interior and Environment - Dept. of the Interior; Forest Service; Indian Health Service; Environmental Protection Agency
• Legislative Branch - Legislative Branch
• Military Construction and VA - Military Construction; Dept. of Veterans Affairs

That left 5 full-year spending bills that needed to pass by the time the current CR, which was passed to end last year's full government shutdown, expired on January 30:

• Transportation and HUD - Dept. of Transportation; Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
• Labor, HHS, and Education - Dept. of Labor; Dept. of Health and Human Services; Dept. of Education; Social Security Administration
• Defense - Dept. of Defense ($838.7 Billion)
• State and Foreign Operation - Dept. of State; Agency for International Development
• Financial Services - Dept. of Treasury; District of Columbia; Executive Office of the President; Judicial Branch

"Hey, wait - 6 plus 5 equals 11. Didn't you say there were 12 appropriations bills in total?" Yes, we did. The remaining bill is for the Department of Homeland Security. While the original full-year funding bill did get approved in the House, recent rampant civil rights violations created a storm of backlash, prompting Senators to refuse to pass it. Instead, they offered a 2-week CR while "discussions" took place.

Funding Fascism

Let's take a closer look at the DHS bill. First of all, DHS does not only house Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It also oversees the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security (CISA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Citizenship and Immigration Services, and others. That means other non-stormtrooper agencies are at risk if all DHS funding expires, but would it actually impact the actions of CBP and ICE?

Not even a little bit. That is because DHS got a HUUUGE influx of cash from last year's One Big Bunch of Bullshit Bill. How much exactly? DHS received a total of $190.8 Billion - $107.9 Billion is regular annual funding (about average) and an additional $82.7 Billion specifically for expansion of ICE and CPB that was meant to last through September 30, 2029. Yup. 2029. Wonder how much is left... 🙄

Let's break down the numbers:

• ICE: $74.9 B
• CPB: $66.8 B
• USCG: $24.2 B
• DHS-wide: $20.0 B
• FEMA: $2.9 B
• USSS: $1.2 B
• FLETC (Fed. Law Enforcement Training Centers): $800 M

So, what are these exorbitant budgets going to fund at ICE and CPB? We have that information, too. ICE received $74.9 B for:

• Facilities: $45.0 B for single adult alien detention and family residential center capacity
• Personnel: $29.85 B for hiring and training additional ICE personnel; performance, retention, and signing bonuses; recruitment, hiring, and onboarding

CPB received $66.8 B, which is supposed to be allocated for:

• Border Infrastructure & Technology: $52.7 B for a variety of items including "artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other innovative technologies" and "border surveillance technologies; expenses and technology relating to the biometric entry and exit system"
• Personnel: $4.1B to hire and train additional Border Patrol agents; $2.0B for personnel bonuses, and $2.0B for immigration and enforcement activities that include " protecting alien children from exploitation" (yes, seriously)
• Vehicles: $855M for the repair of existing patrol units and the lease or acquisition of additional patrol units
• Facilities: $5.0B for the lease, acquisition, construction, design, or improvement of facilities and checkpoints

That means that between ICE and CPB, a whopping $50 B has been allocated for "facilities", with 95% of that specifically designated for "detention facilities". What in the Nazi Germany concentration camps is this shit???

That's No Warehouse

Bloomberg has already done the legwork on this topic. This regime has clearly stated they plan to deport at least 1 million people per year. The problem is that there are not enough "dangerous undocumented criminals" to meet that Goebbels-sized goal... unless they change the definition of "legal" and "citizen" to anyone that is not a White Christian Nationalist. And to where are these folks being deported??

Bloomberg outlines 23 proposed sites where warehouses are being purchased or leased with the express intention of turning them into detention facilities. These warehouses were never designed to hold people. They lack proper ventilation, sanitation, and heating. They are mostly in red states, and the largest is in Hutchins, TX, which will hold 9,500 beds. These are concentration camps. PERIOD.

Is this how you want your tax dollars being spent?

What Can We Do?

You are not powerless. Neither is Congress. The excess ICE/CBP funding from the One Big Bunch of Bullshit Bill can be rescinded by Congress. Bernie Sanders tried to have such an amendment added to the DHS CR, but it failed. Now that the bill is back in the House, call your Representatives - yes, especially if you are in a red state - and tell them you want the prior DHS finding rescinded AND you want an audit of any funding that has been spent.

This is one tool we have to hold Congress and our government accountable to We, the People. The fight will not get easier. If anything, it will get harder as the elections get closer. We begin primaries in just a few weeks, so election security is not a "November problem." It's a "right now" problem. Allowing this regime and DHS to continue building out their master plan over the coming months could be the difference between saving democracy or having it snatched away in the night.

Another valuable resource is Project Salt Box on Substack. They have done an excellent job of keeping up with the warehouses and have been able to disrupt some of the sales. Consider following them and use their tools if you find one of the proposed sites is near you. Democracy is a group project. We need to see this through together.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know!

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Rebellious Services & Communities

​Resource Toolbox Tarot Reading​ Find support and guidance for navigating change, protecting your resources, and reclaiming your power with a 1:1 Resource Toolbox Tarot Reading.

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​Politics & Pentacles​ This informative community will offer insights into world events through the lens of political, corporate, and historical astrology (AKA: mundane astrology). This unique approach highlights patterns on a larger scale.

​Power Hour​ Sometimes you need 1:1 help as a business owner and need insight from someone with years of experience. Power Hour is a single 60-minute 1:1 session designed to give you clarity and action items to move you forward.

​Arcana Resource Coaching​ Arcana Resource Coaching is a 13-session program designed to explore your relationship to your resources. We uncover the hidden opportunities and challenges you have to embracing your full potential.

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As always, your support is appreciated. Stay well!

Sincerely,

Rayna, Money Culture Disruptor & Financial Inclusion Advocate

Rebellious Resources