Senate rejects Bush call for smaller funding bill (72-26)

[Barrett808]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday, ignoring a veto threat from President George W. Bush, blocked an effort to pare back an emergency funding bill for the Iraq war and U.S. hurricane rebuilding.

By a procedural vote of 72-26, the Senate stopped further debate of an amendment that would have cut the $106.5 billion spending bill to $94.5 billion, which would have brought it in line with Bush's request.

The vote came less than 24 hours after the White House, in unusually blunt language, warned the Senate that Bush would veto any bill that spends more than the $94.5 billion he has requested.

Bush was responding to conservative Republicans in Congress, who are trying to scale back a spending bill that originally was intended to maintain U.S. war efforts abroad and Hurricane Katrina-related redevelopment in southern states.

...

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican whose state was hard-hit by Hurricane Katrina, challenged the White House and its veto threat.

"Do we want to ignore ... the needs that are clear and important and serious that are addressed by the funding in this legislation?" Cochran said.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060426/pl_nm/congress_bush_dc

[mdmc]

1. cut and run BABY!

give em veto, w.

[CountAllVotes]

2. well * is officially now

a lame duck. Not even his "base" is backing him up ...

*quack* *quack* !! }(

[ginnyinWI]

3. The process started a year ago

with Social Security "reform". Stick a fork in him.

[Toots]

4. Time for another tax cut I guess

:shrug: or maybe a new war....

[leesa]

5. ALL of that money will go into his buddies pockets anyway with no

improvement in Iraq or for soldiers or any improvement in the hurricane ravaged areas. It's a sick game our government plays while they steal our money from us.