Saturday, May 26, 2007

President Bush Signs war spending bill no one loved.

The Soldiers fighting the "war on terror" will get the funds they need to continue their mission as President Bush signed the war spending bill today that was passed without a timetable for withdrawal by Congress and the Senate.

The news media is calling it a victory for the President, which to a certain extent I suppose it is. I think of it as more of a compromise than a victory as the democrats were able to get more than 8 billion dollars of non-war related spending out of the bill that no one loved.

Here is a look at what was actually in the bill:

• $99.5 billion for the Defense Department, $94.5 billion of it for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• $1.6 billion in U.S. aid for Iraq, which could be restricted if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks.

• $3 billion for land mine-resistant vehicles.

• $3 billion for military health care programs.

• $1.8 billion for veterans' care.

• $1.1 billion for homeland security, including airport, border and cargo container screening.

• $6.4 billion for hurricane relief efforts along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

• $3 billion for disaster farm aid.

• More than $650 million for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

• $465 million for fighting wildfires.

• $425 million for rural schools.

Oh and let's not forget the minimum wage hike that was also attached to the bill...

The Democrats are not happy because they didn't get their timetable for defeat, I mean withdrawal and the Republicans are not happy because the legislation included more than $8 billion in domestic spending, added at Democratic insistence.

"We've got a whole host of other issues that don't deserve to be put on the backs of our men and women in the military,'' said House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio shortly before the vote. "It's a sneaky way to do business.''

It is a sneaky way to do bussiness, but that is how they do it.


This is what they call a Washington compromise... Something that needs to be changed in D.C.


I want to know why it is even legal to add all this pork on to a unrelated bill anyway.

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