Bush Will Veto Spending On Veterans Benefits

Yesterday the White House threatened to veto spending bills that would increase funding for education, healthcare and other domestic programs including veterans benefits.
Rob Portman, Bush's budget director had this to say:

"The administration does not believe that the first step on a path to a balanced budget should be a substantial increase in federal spending," Portman wrote, "yet that is precisely what is called for by the Democrats' budget plan.

Well, how right you are Rob. The first step to a balanced budget would be getting you bastards out of the White House and electing someone who at least has a clue.

"After racking up more than $3 trillion of new debt under its watch, the Bush administration now pretends to be fiscally disciplined by threatening to veto appropriations bills because they include investments in priorities like education and veterans' health care," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said in a statement. "It is time for the administration to work with Congress instead of stubbornly insisting on everything being done its way."

Well, that pretty well sums it up. This is just the opening salvo in a process in which the republicans, led by Bush, will attempt to logjam the budget process. Remember, the sour loser republicans went home crying instead of working on the budget last fall after the people voted for a change. Most federal agencies have been operating without a budget since last October.

I think this will be an opportunity for the recently highly publicized republican desperates, oops, I mean moderates, to work with the democrats to pass domestic spending bills that would address issues ignored by the republicans for the last six-plus years.


Jim Martin