Republicans in Congress nix bird flu funding: will 'try next year'

[Bluebear]

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, a California Republican, helped block the emergency funds. But earlier this week he acknowledged, "The more I study it, the more I see the potential for a pandemic."


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Emergency money that President George W. Bush requested to combat a looming influenza pandemic has been deleted from a U.S. health-funding bill after conservative Republicans insisted it would have to be paid for by cutting other government programs.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday was set to debate the massive health-funding bill. After days of intensive talks between the House and Senate, negotiators dropped a plan for $8 billion in funds that Democrats pushed through the Senate last month. Following that Senate vote, Bush on November 1 asked Congress for $7.1 billion in emergency money.

The funding fight erupted after conservative Republicans in the House insisted that an emergency U.S. effort to stockpile vaccines and anti-viral drugs that could be effective against the deadly flu would have to be paid for by cutting other government programs.

Republican leaders in the House said that instead of attaching the bird flu money to a massive $602 billion health and labor spending bill that is rapidly moving through Congress, they would try separate legislation later this year or early next year....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051117/ts_nm/birdflu_funding_congress_dc_1&printer=1

[SaveElmer]

1. How stupid are they...they can't even play politics with it correctly...

Whatever you think of the bird flu threat...my opinion from reading alot on the topic is that it is something that needs to be prepared for, but is not the imminent threat that is portrayed...I am actually more worried about the virus we haven't ever heard of.

In any case...Bush talks up this imminent threat lets face it, so he could have an emergency to take care of and silence his critics...and he can't even get his own cronies in congress to go along with it..

Lame Duck City man!!!

[Double T]

2. Repubs have to watch the spending on the budget.........

wouldn't want the millionaires and billionaires to NOT have their tax cuts.

[stopbush]

3. More tax cuts for the rich = vaccine against bird flu!

Yeah, that's the ticket!

[drb]

4. Well, if Jeff Flake dies of the bird flu, I'll be standing in line...

...to piss on his grave.

[jackstraw45]

5. $220 BILLION+ in Iraq, yet "There's no way to offset $7 billion..."

These crooks and frauds deserve to ROT in HELL.