Iraq Funding Bill Add-Ons Draw Fire
By Andrew Taylor
A bill exceeding by more than $15 billion President Bush’s request for the war in Iraq and new hurricane aid could grow even larger, much to the dismay of GOP conservatives hoping to improve their record on spending.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill Tuesday after adding about $10 billion for everything from rebuilding highways to enhancing port security.
Farmers suffering from drought, storms and high energy costs got $4 billion in aid, while $594 million would be sprinkled across 30 states to repair highways damaged by earlier disasters but put off after aid was focused on the Gulf Coast.
The extras are sure to provoke a reaction from GOP conservatives already complaining about their party’s free-spending ways. But the temptation to use the must-pass bill containing $67.8 billion for the Pentagon’s mission in Iraq _ and some $27 billion in additional hurricane relief along the Gulf Coast _ as a locomotive to drive even more spending proved too irresistible for senators to pass up.
Overall, the bill would cost about $107 billion.
That’s still not enough for Gulf Coast senators like Mary Landrieu, D-La., who marched from the Senate Appropriations Committee vote to the Senate Press Gallery to demand an additional $5 billion-plus to reflect new Army Corps of Engineers estimates of what will be needed for Louisiana levees.
Landrieu vows to block Senate confirmation of every Bush administration appointment until the president supports the new and higher figure.
Senators piled the extra money into the bill on a series of voice votes _ at a pace of almost $100 million per minute of debate _ with high-ranking Republicans such as Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sitting by in silence.
The additional funding includes:
-$4 billion for farmers hit by drought, floods and high energy costs. Top supporters were Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Conrad Burns, R-Mont. Burns faces a difficult re-election battle.
-$2.3 billion to combat the avian flu. It was offered by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, as championed but not officially requested by the White House.
-$1.1 billion for various projects to bring back Gulf Coast fisheries, replace fishing equipment and facilities and provide aid to workers and fishing companies. The funding, pushed by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., includes $100 million to rehabilitate damaged oyster and shrimp beds.
-$648 million for port security projects, obtained by the top panel Democrat, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H., cast the only “nay” vote, in absentia. Even before the $10 billion in add-ons, Gregg said the $96.7 billion version drafted by Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., had “ballooned out of control.”
This is another blatant example of conservative backstabbing when it comes to fiscal responsibility and taking care of the people’s money. Bill after bill leaving committees these days are filled with pork-barrel projects, while our respresentatives reject anything resembling fiscal discipline.
While both conservatives and liberals denounce the ballooning federal deficit and speak out against pork-filled legislation, their actions speak much louder than their words. To force our Congressmen to turn away from fiscally irresponsible practices, we must do two things. First, we must vote for change. Only a rough election or the loss of one will put politicians in their place. Their responsibility lies with the people, not lobbyists. Second, we must promote a society of personal responsibility and remove the lazy, “blame someone else first” mentality in America.
In today’s trying times, we must work to give politicians a reality check, while changing the mindsets of millions of Americans back toward classic American values like individual responsibility and work ethic.
