Senate Ready to Defy Bush on Highway Bill

[Algorem]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5012265,00.html


By JIM ABRAMS

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate is uniting on a $295 billion highway bill aimed at building bigger, better roads while creating tens of thousands of jobs, but the administration says it's too expensive for a country at war and in debt.

Courting what would be the first veto of the Bush presidency, the Senate was expected on Tuesday to overwhelmingly back a six-year package that, in addition to funding highway and bridge projects, would provide more than $50 billion for public transit, fund recreational road programs and promote highway safety.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said that he was one of the most conservative members of Congress but was at odds with the administration because ``there are two areas where we need to spend money. One is national defense and the other is infrastructure.''

The Senate vote was in some ways a repeat of last year, when the senators approved a bill well above what the White House deemed affordable. In the end no compromise was reached with Congress, and lawmakers have had to pass six temporary extensions of the old six-year act, which expired on Sept. 31, 2003...

[rkc3]

1. Let him veto it - we can send pictures of our commutes and

copies of ASCE's infrastructure report to him as a reminder of the new roads being built in Iraq while those at home are congested and rotting.

[Vincardog]

2. does anyone see the Hypocrisy here?

a country at war Because it was deceived no lied to to trick it into this illegal immoral illegitimate Voluntary war of aggression in Iraq

and in debt Because the shrub has cut taxes on the wealthy and done all he could to transfer all tax from wealth to labor, while at the same time paying companies to move jobs and factories offshore thus eliminating the labor carrying the fiscal burden.

[orwell]

3. Translation

Bush: I sent us to war in part to bankrupt the US Treasury and hand the country over to my crony capitalist friends (you know, the ones in the Seville Row suits and the flag pins...)

Now fall in line or feel the Wrath of Con...

[Drifter]

4. PPPPPP

Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

How can this FuckTard cite two reasons (both of which are his fault) as the reason to NOT do something that both improves our infrastructure while it creates jobs.

There should be no doubt why this country will never be the same.

Cheers
Drifter

[LynnTheDem]

5. 38 out of 56 republicans voted NO for $213 MILLION for armored humvees

But they're ok with $295 BILLION for roads.

What the fuck ever.

[Tace]

6. Who's Going To Be Driving In 10 Years When Gas Is $10/gallon?

The weathiest one percent of the population.

[PunkPop]

7. Inhofe is half right

And for a Republican, that's about the best you can hope for. Actually for a right-wing nutjob like Infofe that's pretty damn good. Give that man a gold star!

Our infrastructure is crumbling and we spend more on defense than the next 15 (50? can't remember the number right now) countries combined, but BOTH are areas "where we need to spend money"?

How about we re-ALLOCATE our defense spending - Get out of Iraq, drawn down our foreign forces, reduce the number of service people, increase the pay of those that remain and STOP SHOVELING MONEY AT THE PENTAGON AND CORRUPT DEFENSE CONTRACTORS.

[bemildred]

8. The Senate does not "defy" Bush.

Bush is a hired stooge. The Senate is the 800 pound gorilla
in US politics. This just means they are feeling the heat.

[shanti]

9. AND what little "gem"

have they hidden in THIS one???