Also yesterday, the Senate Democrats spent an Appropriations Committee hearing Wednesday berating Office of Management and Budget director Jim Nussle over the costs of the war in Iraq. Democrat leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and DSCC Chairman Chuck Schumer, held a press conference blaming economic troubles on the war. A number of newspaper articles and economists, including a former Clinton administration official, criticized the Democrats’ analysis, saying it “strains credulity” and it has “more political salience than economic validity.” But as Senate Democrats complained about war costs, House Democrats were apparently considering a supplemental war funding bill that would fund the troops through 2009. Of course, there is a catch: the House Democrats also want to attach billions of dollars in domestic spending initiatives to the measure. House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) warned Democrats, “We are not going to do this supplemental if it includes stuff that is not defense-related.”
From Senate & News Sources: Sen. Judd Gregg, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, has an excellent op-ed in the New Hampshire Union-Leader today criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats for their “shortsighted and reckless move” to indefinitely postpone consideration of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement:
“The House vote sends a message to the people of Colombia that America is aYesterday The Examiner and Robert J. Samuelson joined the chorus of criticism of Pelosi for trying to spike the Colombia agreement, the benefits of which are so obvious many refer to the bill as a “no-brainer.”
fair-weather friend. And it sends a message to the rest of the world that the
United States can no longer be trusted on trade negotiations. . . . The
short-term political benefits the Democrats may seek from delaying the FTA vote
unfortunately extend beyond our shores. In an increasingly left-leaning Latin
America, the news will undoubtedly be welcome by Venezuelan authoritarian leader
Hugo Chavez . . . . Intentionally or not, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made
[Colombian] President Uribe's job of countering terrorism and narcotics
throughout the region exponentially more difficult. This undermines United
States national security interests in the region and tarnishes America's
reputation abroad. It is ironic that those who complain loudest about our
country's image abroad have done the most damage to our reputation in South
America.”
CQ Today also reports that 14 House members are joining environmental groups asking the Supreme Court to block Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff from waiving various federal statutes in order to expedite the construction of a border fence. CQ writes, “Chertoff maintains that exercising the waiver is a necessary step to ensure that he is able to carry out the job that Congress gave him in formally mandating the construction of a border wall in the Secure Fence Act of 2006.”
Tags: border fence, Colombia, Congressional Pork, Free Trade, highway bill, Iraq War, military funding, Nancy Pelosi, pork, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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