Friday - May 05, 2006

Pigs At The Trough

When it comes to pork in the budget, the US Senate is part of the problem not the solution. Once again, this dishonorable bunch of spendthrifts went out of their way to carve out a little pork for a few pet projects while attempting to provide emergency funding for the war and hurricane relief. Where is the line item veto when you really need it?

Not surprisingly, Democrats jumped on this budget and gave it 100% support. Only 20 Republicans, however, had the sense to walk away from the pig trough. Keep in mind that these b**tards can vote themselves a pay raise any time they want (actually, they’ve rigged it so pay raises are automatic unless they vote against them). Are you sick and tired of this behavior from the Senate yet? If so, let them know. Mail a rancid pork chop or two to your US Senator today. Let them eat cake pork ...

Senate Defies Bush on Spending
$109 Billion Bill for Wars, Storm Relief Disdained in House
_{Friday, May 5, 2006}

(WASHINGTON POST)—The Senate ignored President Bush’s veto threat yesterday and easily passed a $109 billion emergency spending bill for war and hurricane recovery costs that also brimmed with favors for farmers, the fishing industry, and the states of Hawaii and Rhode Island.

The two-week debate that preceded yesterday’s 77 to 21 final vote was marked by an election-year surge in targeted spending on behalf of constituents and special interests, despite repeated warnings by fiscal conservatives about a swollen budget deficit.

The Senate added money to rebuild a highway in Hawaii; protect riverbanks in California; upgrade a hurricane barrier in Providence, R.I.; and compensate New England shell fishermen for their losses from a red tide outbreak. The Senate also took steps to make farming less risky by offering compensation for virtually any scourge, including drought, flood, wildfires and pestilence.

The next step for the Senate is a potentially rancorous final negotiating session with the House, where Republican leaders greeted the Senate package with scorn. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) called it “dead on arrival” and said his chamber “has no intention of joining in a spending spree.”

House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) promised a final bill that does not spend “one dollar more than what the president asks for, period.”

If the threats hold, senators will have to accept a final bill that is nearly $15 billion less than the legislation approved yesterday. The House package, which passed March 16, came in slightly below Bush’s original $92.2 billion request, at $91.9 billion.

The Senate bill arrived on the floor last week at $106.5 billion but grew through a series of amendments. Bush did sign off on one additional measure, $2.3 billion for pandemic flu preparations.

The bill’s original intent was to provide funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to help Mississippi and Louisiana rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Ever since the Iraq invasion in March 2003, the administration has insisted on paying war-related expenses through ad hoc supplemental spending bills. It contends that the conflicts are temporary and that military costs cannot be anticipated well enough to be included in the regular budget process.

- More pork news from the WAPO ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 05/05/2006 at 08:35 AM   
Filed Under: • Porkbusters •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
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4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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