Money for something
Grateful we must be that our "leaders" finally have moved to fund what is their duty to do, yet they still treat this as if it were some "gift" from their own personal checkbooks ! - and expect thanks at that level, as well. Enjoy.
June 13, 2006
House Approves Funds for Wars and Hurricane Aid
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON, June 13 — The House approved a $94.5 billion emergency spending bill today with money for hurricane relief and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senate is expected to approve the measure in the next few days, clearing the legislation for President Bush to sign.
House and Senate negotiators reached agreement among themselves and with the White House by reducing disaster assistance to stay within the limit set by the president. Still, legislators from Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states praised the final bill, saying it would provide money desperately needed by their constituents to repair damage done by Hurricane Katrina.
The vote on the bill was 351 to 67. The no votes came from 19 Republicans, mainly fiscal conservatives, and 48 Democrats, including some of the party's more liberal House members.
Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, said that in negotiations with the Senate, he made clear that the House would not accept $1 more than the president had requested.
"We made good on this promise by rejecting some $14 billion in unnecessary, non-emergency spending added" by the Senate, Mr. Boehner said.
Spending in the final bill was much closer to the level originally approved by the House, $91.9 billion, than to the amount endorsed by the Senate, $108.9 billion.
The final package includes $65.8 billion for continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, $3.9 billion for foreign aid, $19.8 for hurricane relief and $2.3 billion to prepare for a potential avian flu epidemic, with much of the remainder intended for border security.
Representative David R. Obey of Wisconsin, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, voted for the bill. But he denounced the use of emergency spending bills, outside the regular budget and appropriations process, to finance the war in Iraq.
"Such emergency spending is simply a gimmick that masks the full cost of the war, and it does not fool anybody except the American people," Mr. Obey said.
Representative Jeb Hensarling, a fiscally conservative Texas Republican who voted against the bill, echoed this concern. "I support our troops, I support the war on terror, but I do not believe we should finance the war through emergency supplemental appropriations," Mr. Hensarling said in an interview. "That approach evades whatever spending discipline we have."
The bill provides $1.9 billion for border security, including $708 million to deploy 6,000 members of the National Guard to thwart illegal immigration from Mexico. But House and Senate negotiators dropped $648 million that had been recommended by the Senate to beef up port security.
June 13, 2006
House Approves Funds for Wars and Hurricane Aid
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON, June 13 — The House approved a $94.5 billion emergency spending bill today with money for hurricane relief and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senate is expected to approve the measure in the next few days, clearing the legislation for President Bush to sign.
House and Senate negotiators reached agreement among themselves and with the White House by reducing disaster assistance to stay within the limit set by the president. Still, legislators from Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states praised the final bill, saying it would provide money desperately needed by their constituents to repair damage done by Hurricane Katrina.
The vote on the bill was 351 to 67. The no votes came from 19 Republicans, mainly fiscal conservatives, and 48 Democrats, including some of the party's more liberal House members.
Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, said that in negotiations with the Senate, he made clear that the House would not accept $1 more than the president had requested.
"We made good on this promise by rejecting some $14 billion in unnecessary, non-emergency spending added" by the Senate, Mr. Boehner said.
Spending in the final bill was much closer to the level originally approved by the House, $91.9 billion, than to the amount endorsed by the Senate, $108.9 billion.
The final package includes $65.8 billion for continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, $3.9 billion for foreign aid, $19.8 for hurricane relief and $2.3 billion to prepare for a potential avian flu epidemic, with much of the remainder intended for border security.
Representative David R. Obey of Wisconsin, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, voted for the bill. But he denounced the use of emergency spending bills, outside the regular budget and appropriations process, to finance the war in Iraq.
"Such emergency spending is simply a gimmick that masks the full cost of the war, and it does not fool anybody except the American people," Mr. Obey said.
Representative Jeb Hensarling, a fiscally conservative Texas Republican who voted against the bill, echoed this concern. "I support our troops, I support the war on terror, but I do not believe we should finance the war through emergency supplemental appropriations," Mr. Hensarling said in an interview. "That approach evades whatever spending discipline we have."
The bill provides $1.9 billion for border security, including $708 million to deploy 6,000 members of the National Guard to thwart illegal immigration from Mexico. But House and Senate negotiators dropped $648 million that had been recommended by the Senate to beef up port security.
posted by Joe Paris at Wednesday, June 14, 2006
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home