House Democrats Pass Pork Bill with Timetable for Iraq War
Do You Want Pork with That?
For those of you who don't know, President Bush asked Congress to pass an emergency supplemental appropriation's bill to fund the troops in Iraq. This seems like a perfectly simple and easily understood request. However, the Dummocrats obviously can't read or think about anything but pork and spinach! These armchair generals decided that President Bush really wanted them to tell him how to run the War on Terror and set about adding a timetable for troop pullouts to the emergency supplemental appropriation's bill.
The emergency supplemental appropriation's bill that passed the House of Representatives today with a vote of 218 to 212 (Roll Call here) included money for the troops, a timetable to withdraw our troops from Iraq by 2008 and the following "emergency" spending (Club for Growth
Corps of Engineers: Provides $1.3 billion to Corps of Engineers for continued repairs on the levee system in New Orleans.
FEMA: Provides $4.3 billion for disaster relief at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The bill would eliminate the state and local matching requirements for certain FEMA assistance (in connection with Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma, and Dennis) in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida, and provides that the federal portion of these costs will be 100%.
HUD Indian Housing: Provides $80 million in tenant-based rental assistance for public and Indian housing under HUD.
Crop Disaster Assistance: Provides roughly $3 billion in agriculture assistance to crop producers and livestock owners experiencing losses in 2005, 2006, or 2007 due to bad weather.
Spinach: Provides $25 million for payments to spinach producers that were unable to market spinach crops as a result of the FDA Public Health Advisory issued on September 14, 2006.
Shrimp: Provides $120 million to the shrimp industry for expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane Katrina.
Frozen Farmland: Provides $20 million for the cleanup and restoration of farmland damaged by freezing temperatures during a time period beginning on January 1, 2007 through the date of enactment.
Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program: Provides $283 million for payments under the MILC program, to extend the life of the program for one year, through September 30, 2008. MILC provides payments to dairy farmers when milk prices fall below a certain rate.
Peanut Storage Subsidies: Provides $74 million to extend peanut storage payments through 2007. The Peanut Subsidy Storage program, which is set to expire this year, pays farmers for the storage, handling, and other costs for peanuts voluntarily placed in the marketing loan program.
Aquaculture Operations: Provides $5 million for payments to "aquaculture operations and other persons in the U.S. engaged in the business of breeding, rearing, or transporting live fish" (such as shellfish, oysters and clams) to cover economic losses incurred as a result of an emergency order issued by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on October 24, 2006.
FDA Office of Women's Health: Provides $4 million for the Office of Women's Health at the Food and Drug Administration.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Provides $60.4 million for fishing communities, Indian tribes, individuals, small businesses, including fishermen, fish processors, and related businesses for assistance related to "the commercial fishery failure." According to the Committee Report, this funding is to be used to provide disaster relief for those along the California and Oregon coast affected by the "2006 salmon fishery disaster in the Klamath River."
Avian Flu: Provides $969 million for the Department of HHS to continue to prepare and respond to an avian flu pandemic. Of this funding, $870 million is to be used for the development of vaccines.
Secure Rural Schools Act (Forest County Payments): Provides $400 million to be used for one-time payments to be allocated to states under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. This program provides a funding stream (known as forest county payments) to counties with large amounts of Bureau of Land Management land, in order to compensate for the loss of receipt-sharing payments on this land caused by decreased revenue from timber sales due to environmental protections for endangered species. The authorization for these forest county payments expired at the end of FY 2006, and counties received their last payment under the Act in December 2006.
LIHEAP: Provides $400 million for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
Vaccine Compensation: Provides $50 million to compensate individuals for injuries caused by the H5N1 vaccine, which is a flu vaccine.
Payment to Widow of Rep. Norwood: Provides $165,200 to Gloria W. Norwood, the widow of former Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA), an RSC Member, who passed away last month. In the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2005 (H.R. 1268), Congress provided $162,100 to Doris Matsui, the widow of former Rep. Robert Matsui.
Capitol Power Plant: Provides $50 million to the Capitol Power Plant for asbestos abatement and safety improvements.
Liberia: Provides that money appropriated for FY 2007 for the Bilateral Economic Assistance program at the Department of Treasury may be used to assist Liberia in retiring its debt arrearages to the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the African Development Bank.
SCHIP: Provides $750 million to the Secretary of HHS to provide assistance to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) "shortfall states,", in the form of an amount "as the Secretary determines will eliminate the estimated shortfall." This provision is direct spending that is essentially capped at $750 million and designated as an emergency to avoid PAYGO constraints.
Minimum Wage Increase: Increases the federal minimum wage from $5.15-per-hour to $7.25-per-hour over two-plus years-a 41% increase. Yields $16.5 billion in private-sector costs over five years.
Tax Increases and Shifts: Implements several tax increases and shifts, including: denying the lowest maximum capital gains tax rate for certain minors and adults, extending the suspension of interest payments due to the IRS, and adjusting the deadlines for corporate estimated tax payments. Costs taxpayers $1.380 billion over the FY2007-FY2017 period.
President Bush vowed to veto this ridiculous bill if it should reach his desk. He also scolded the Dummocrats about grandstanding and impeding a real emergency supplemental appropriation's bill to fund the troops who are fighting a war in Iraq. Our troops are fighting and dying over there and we have to deal with this crap. I can only imagine what the President really wanted to say.
Sources say that our troops will run out of funding next month. What happens then?
Published by Chaotic Ramblings
Proud, Patriotic American, Disabled USMC Veteran, Optimistic Realist, Mother of Three, Starving Artist, Freelance Writer, Amateur Seamstress, Promising Poet, Songstress, Journalist, Web Designer, Graphic Art... View profile
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22 Comments
Post a CommentThey put in all the pork to garner more votes for their "strategy". It's sad when our reps will only vote yes on a bill *if* there's something in it for them. Why can't a bill have NO pork? Why can't they actually vote on the issue at hand? Our Congress is a JOKE. And what was it the dems were running on...getting rid of earmarks immediately? Ugh. They are all crooked. Vote Ron Paul 2008!!!! ;)
Great article :-)
Arrgh! It is mind boggling that there are people in this country still STUPID enough to believe anything Bush says...keep right on voting against your best interests, and push America right on into corporate/christo fascism!
This is such a waste of time. Bush has said he will veto any bill with a timetable for leaving Iraq, so putting that in any bill is just guaranteeing that it won't pass and become law. Democrats are wasting their time on this.
More crap, or more truth? It depends on which side you are on. I could obviously say the same of many comments on this article. The article stands on its own. The Democrats should not have created such a bogus emergency appropriation's bill. They should have done the right thing instead of playing politics with our troops lives and wellbeing.
More crap from another right-winger. I refuse to give ANY amount of respect to an article when all it is meant to do is completely bash the left side. There is a way to be opinionated without being brash and disrespectful. When you want to write respectful work, I will comment accordingly on that, but until then - the first sentence is the most respect you will get from me.
Ramble on, my Great American friend. You're right on!
Kristina, if Bush lied, so did Clinton, the UN, the UK and everybody else who knew about the WMD's. Saddam killed his own people with them, or had you forgotten? Jeff, if the prez. o.k.'s the pork bill and withdrawl date, he won't be serving the best interests of the troops. He would be like a liberal, pandering to a bunch of moronic loudmouths who just want to lose this war for political reasons. You know, Jeff, people like you....
My brother's in Afghanistan. My husband's been told that he may be asked to volunteer for Iraq ground duty, even though he's Navy personnel. If the troops don't get funded, no one's coming home; instead, the Army and other services will tighten their belts. My brother will stay longer because there won't be relief troops. It will be far more likely that my husband will go to Iraq because Army personnel will not have the manpower to send instead. If, however, Bush were to sign the bill as is and we get a withdrawal timetable, Al Qaeda can turn the resources and manpower currently in Iraq to attacking America directly. It's an obvious strategy. Of the two, I'd rather Bush stick to his guns here, even though two people I love like my life will be at more risk longer.
Thank you Mister Patriot, Manda and Gipsy. I was pleasantly surprised by your positive comments. It's great to know there are others out there that share my opinions. I took a trip over to Al Jazeera (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EAC8B0A0-CA11-4035-907F-5E12BCC58FA0.htm) and read their opinion on how weak they think our President is after this debacle. Ridiculous!