Appropriations Chairman Obey on President’s Iraq Request (for add'l $46B)

[babylonsister]

http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=870

Appropriations Chairman Obey on President’s Iraq Request
October 22nd, 2007 by Jesse Lee

Chairman David Obey of the Appropriations Committee issued the following statement on the nearly $200 billion war funding request the President sent the Congress today:

“It’s amazing to me that the President expects to be taken seriously when he says we cannot afford $20 billion in investments in education, health, law enforcement and science, which will make this country stronger over the long term, but he doesn’t blink an eye at asking to borrow $200 billion for a policy in Iraq that leaves us six months from now exactly where we were six months ago.

“Only this White House would call this progress.

“The President needs to rethink his position on both fronts.”

For the last 5 days the Committee has been sending out press releases looking at the difference between the President and the Congress on appropriations bills. See the releases at link~

· Healthcare Access: $1.4 billion = 4 Days in Iraq (pdf)

· Education: $5.9 billion = 18 Days in Iraq (pdf)

· Transportation Infrastructure: $2.4 billion = 1 Week in Iraq (pdf)

· Medical Research: $1 billion = 3 Days in Iraq (pdf)

· Law Enforcement: $1.8 billion = 5 Days in Iraq (pdf)

[Maggie_May]

1. I just love Obey

If we had more of this on the house floor and the senate floor and on the campaign trail. Maybe it would push the republicans into a corner and they would have to bring our troops home. We know that funding for programs are being cut because of the Iraq war but not all people do. Our democrats need to talk about how funding the Iraq war cuts off funding for the American people just like Bush talks about if democrats don't give him his appropriations cuts funding to the troops

[tekisui]

2. 1.2 billion to DynCorp, and nobody knows what that got us.....

[mod mom]

5. on NPR this am they said DynCorp discovered an erroneous $6 million paynmnent from the State Dept

and returned it. :mad:

Heads need to roll!

[Toots]

3. And then he will turn around and vote to give Bush* the money

That is what has burned me up the most about Democrats, they start out saying the right things and then buckle and give them everything they want..

[babylonsister]

4. Yes, it burns me up, too. At least give us an explanation that we can believe. nt