House, Senate Agree on Homeland Security Funds (NO Americore funds)

[papau]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-congress-security.html

House, Senate Agree on Homeland Security Funds
By REUTERS Filed at 7:20 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate and House of Representatives negotiators agreed on Wednesday on a $29.4 billion bill to fund the new Department of Homeland Security next year, after dropping a requirement that all cargo carried on passenger airplanes first receive a security screening.<snip>

Negotiators dropped from the final bill a House-passed provision that would have immediately required U.S. airlines to begin screening cargo carried on passenger planes. Most cargo shipments are not inspected, as all passenger baggage must be.Instead, the bill directs the Transportation Security Administration to try to put cargo screening procedures in place "at the earliest date possible" -- something critics said would have little practical effect."I think it is a major problem, and I think we are skirting the issue," said Minnesota Democratic Rep. Martin Sabo.The House and Senate did agree to limit the government's controversial new airline passenger profiling system. The program, known as CAPPS II, will comb both government records and private-sector databases to verify passengers' identities...would bar its deployment for five months, while Congress studies whether it includes sufficient privacy protections.

<snip>The bill did not include $100 million the Senate had sought for the cash-strapped AmeriCorps national service program -- which has said it will have to start dropping tens of thousands of young volunteers if it does not get extra funding.

[Brucey]

1. The House and Senate

are so hopelessly out of touch with reality, rationality, morality, and good sense that their pitiful and harmful actions are more like crimes than like government business.

[Bridget Burke]

2. Hmm, where could those volunteers go...

after being dropped by Americorps? Job market's pretty tight.

Hey, how about enlisting? There's a plan.

[TacticalPeek]

3. Our country is better than this.

$87 billion per year / 365 = $238,356,164 per day

$238,356,164 / 24 = $9,931,507 per hour

$100,000,000 / $9,931,507 = 10.07 hours

Thus, in 10 hours and 4 minutes we spend the annual $100 million for AmeriCorps. A drop of water in a hot skillet.

Nice to know the taxpayers' money is in such fine hands.


* These figures do not include the unholy interest charges which, along with the $87B, our children and grandchildren will pay for Shrub's folly.