Democrats defy Bush veto threat on spending plan
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Brian Fale
Democratic lawmakers, ignoring a veto threat, will try to force President George W. Bush to approve an increase in domestic spending by combining it with legislation funding military construction and veterans' programs.
Lawmakers said they will merge the appropriations bills into a single $750 billion measure, making Bush either accept a $10 billion increase for education, health care and job-training programs or veto legislation benefiting active and retired military personnel near Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
Bush said that he would veto the bill, calling it a ``cynical ploy.'' Congressional Republicans also denounced the plan, saying it would needlessly delay funding for the Veterans Health Administration. ``Why hold up funds for veterans?'' said Representative Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican.
Congress hasn't approved any of the annual spending bills for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The government is being funded by a stopgap spending measure until Nov. 16.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat, scoffed at Republican objections to what he has called ``procedural niceties,'' saying it's not unusual for lawmakers to combine some of the bills that fund the federal government before forwarding them to the president.
Obey said Republicans' ``newfound concern for delay'' is ``touching,'' while noting that they didn't pass the veterans' funding measure at all last year when they controlled Congress, leaving it for Democrats to complete early this year.
Democrats backed away from a plan to include funding for the Defence Department in the legislation. Obey said he went to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office last night to recommend pulling the defense portion of the bill in a gesture of goodwill to Bush and Republicans on Capitol Hill who had sharply criticized the proposal.
``I'm trying to kill them with kindness,'' Obey said. Democrats have now met them ``considerably more than halfway,'' he said.
Representative Jerry Lewis, the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said Democrats probably decided not to include Defense Department funding because they didn't want to lose the support of lawmakers who won't back additional funding for the Iraq war.
``It's a compromise,'' Lewis said, ``to satisfy some voices in the Democratic caucus.''
Lewis expressed confidence Democrats would not pick up any additional Republican votes with the move.
House Democrats fell two votes short of winning a veto-proof majority when they passed the health care, education and job-training bill in July.
Fifty- three Republicans voted for the measure. The House approved the veterans' bill with a 409 to 2 vote.
Both bills passed the Senate with veto-proof majorities.
Democrats said the legislation, which merged versions passed by the House and Senate, will probably reach the House floor for a vote by Nov. 7.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said he hopes lawmakers will be able to send the bill to Bush next week.
The legislation provides $65 billion for veterans' affairs and $151 billion in discretionary spending for health care, education and job training programs. The remainder of the money is mandatory spending for entitlement programs.
Senator Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, predicted Republicans would be able to break the bill into the two spending measures by invoking a procedural motion established earlier this year in the Senate that would require 60 votes to overcome.
Bush said today that Democrats were withholding crucial funds for the military.
``This is no time for Congress to hold back vital funding for our troops as they fight al-Qaeda terrorists and radicals in Afghanistan and Iraq,'' Bush said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a policy research organization in Washington.
Obey said he didn't know when lawmakers might take up the annual defence spending bill or legislation funding the Iraq war. He said he doesn't believe the Pentagon needs any more money this year.
``They have enough to tide them over through January,'' Obey said. ``I think they will say that they don't even though they told us privately they do.
It's all a game of trying to intimidate the Congress into doing whatever the hell the king wants us to do.''
Bloomberg
Democratic lawmakers, ignoring a veto threat, will try to force President George W. Bush to approve an increase in domestic spending by combining it with legislation funding military construction and veterans' programs.
Lawmakers said they will merge the appropriations bills into a single $750 billion measure, making Bush either accept a $10 billion increase for education, health care and job-training programs or veto legislation benefiting active and retired military personnel near Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
Bush said that he would veto the bill, calling it a ``cynical ploy.'' Congressional Republicans also denounced the plan, saying it would needlessly delay funding for the Veterans Health Administration. ``Why hold up funds for veterans?'' said Representative Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican.
Congress hasn't approved any of the annual spending bills for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The government is being funded by a stopgap spending measure until Nov. 16.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat, scoffed at Republican objections to what he has called ``procedural niceties,'' saying it's not unusual for lawmakers to combine some of the bills that fund the federal government before forwarding them to the president.
Obey said Republicans' ``newfound concern for delay'' is ``touching,'' while noting that they didn't pass the veterans' funding measure at all last year when they controlled Congress, leaving it for Democrats to complete early this year.
Democrats backed away from a plan to include funding for the Defence Department in the legislation. Obey said he went to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office last night to recommend pulling the defense portion of the bill in a gesture of goodwill to Bush and Republicans on Capitol Hill who had sharply criticized the proposal.
``I'm trying to kill them with kindness,'' Obey said. Democrats have now met them ``considerably more than halfway,'' he said.
Representative Jerry Lewis, the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said Democrats probably decided not to include Defense Department funding because they didn't want to lose the support of lawmakers who won't back additional funding for the Iraq war.
``It's a compromise,'' Lewis said, ``to satisfy some voices in the Democratic caucus.''
Lewis expressed confidence Democrats would not pick up any additional Republican votes with the move.
House Democrats fell two votes short of winning a veto-proof majority when they passed the health care, education and job-training bill in July.
Fifty- three Republicans voted for the measure. The House approved the veterans' bill with a 409 to 2 vote.
Both bills passed the Senate with veto-proof majorities.
Democrats said the legislation, which merged versions passed by the House and Senate, will probably reach the House floor for a vote by Nov. 7.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said he hopes lawmakers will be able to send the bill to Bush next week.
The legislation provides $65 billion for veterans' affairs and $151 billion in discretionary spending for health care, education and job training programs. The remainder of the money is mandatory spending for entitlement programs.
Senator Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, predicted Republicans would be able to break the bill into the two spending measures by invoking a procedural motion established earlier this year in the Senate that would require 60 votes to overcome.
Bush said today that Democrats were withholding crucial funds for the military.
``This is no time for Congress to hold back vital funding for our troops as they fight al-Qaeda terrorists and radicals in Afghanistan and Iraq,'' Bush said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a policy research organization in Washington.
Obey said he didn't know when lawmakers might take up the annual defence spending bill or legislation funding the Iraq war. He said he doesn't believe the Pentagon needs any more money this year.
``They have enough to tide them over through January,'' Obey said. ``I think they will say that they don't even though they told us privately they do.
It's all a game of trying to intimidate the Congress into doing whatever the hell the king wants us to do.''
Bloomberg