Speaker Pelosi, More War Funding Next Week Is No "Emergency"

[unhappycamper]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/speaker-pelosi-more-war-f_b_625601.html?ir=Politics">Speaker Pelosi, More War Funding Next Week Is No "Emergency"
Robert Naiman
Policy Director, Just Foreign Policy
Posted: June 25, 2010 11:46 AM

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is committed to passing an emergency war supplemental before the July Fourth recess, Roll Call reports.

Let us be perfectly clear, as President Obama might say. There is no "emergency" requiring the House to throw another $33 billion into our increasingly bloody and pointless occupation of Afghanistan before we all go off to celebrate the anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from foreign occupation.

This fact - that there is no emergency requiring an immediate appropriation - is absolutely critical, because the claim that there is some "emergency" requiring an immediate infusion of cash, otherwise there will be some new apocalyptic catastrophe, is the means by which the Pentagon and the White House hope to dodge two sets of questions about the war supplemental urgently being asked by Democratic leaders in the House.

Secretary Gates has complained that if the war money is not approved by July 4, the Pentagon might have to do "stupid things" like furlough civilian Pentagon employees. I am not in favor of furloughs, even of Pentagon employees (can we furlough someone who approves breaking into Afghans' homes in the middle of the night and killing pregnant women?), but as "stupid" goes, furloughing Pentagon employees doesn't hold a candle to laying off public school teachers, which is the likely consequence of allowing the Pentagon and the White House dodge their critics in the House.

The war funding proposal has been sitting in the inbox for six months. What kind of "emergency" is that? The $33 billion represents about five percent of the gargantuan Pentagon budget. The Pentagon can live with a little more delay, while we get answers to some urgent questions.

[uponit7771]

1. K...attach unemployment extension to this "emergency" haven KKKons vote against it and then run on..

...that during 2010 elections harping on a just slightly more than a non issue like the GOP would do using the M$M as their lackys.

My disappointment with Tim Kaine isn't decreasing over the months

[Blue Owl]

2. War funds?

Fuck war funds.

I wanna see some fucking GULF FUNDS -- our WHOLE PLANET is in peril thanks to environmental terrorists/shadow government they call Big Oil.

[county worker]

3. What, the title says Pelosi says there is no emergency then the first sentence

says, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is committed to passing an emergency war supplemental before the July Fourth recess"

[Nite Owl]

4. Well if they need more funds then

they should be under the same rules as the rest of the budget. Find it somewhere in the Pentagon budget if they need money. Paygo and all that should mean them too.

[flvegan]

5. Always plenty of money for wars/occupation. Never enough for the needy here.