House Passes Pentagon Non-War Budget

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

House Passes Pentagon Non - War Budget

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 8, 2007
Filed at 10:30 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House on Thursday approved a big boost in the Pentagon's non-war budget for President Bush's signature, even as a spending bill containing far smaller increases for health and education programs headed toward a certain veto.

The confluence of the votes reflected Bush's dominant position in the year-end budget battle pitting the White House against Democrats controlling Congress. The $471 billion defense budget -- awarding the Pentagon with a 9 percent, $40 billion budget increase -- passed the House by a 400-15 vote. A Senate vote was scheduled for late Thursday. At the same time, House Democrats fell three votes short of winning a veto-proof margin on the health, education and job training bill, a top party priority.

The Pentagon bill only funds core department operations, omitting Bush's $196 billion request for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, except for an almost $12 billion infusion for new troop vehicles that are resistant to roadside bombs.

The House-Senate Pentagon measure is Bush's top priority in the budget endgame consuming so much time and energy on Capitol Hill. It would be the first of 12 appropriations bills for the budget year that began Oct. 1 to be signed into law.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Budget-Battle.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[robinlynne]

1. Doesn't Pelosi control the order of voting? Why not just tell Bush to shove it, until he passes what

they want, and THEN vote on his bills. That's what Republicans do.

[valerief]

3. Pelosi would have to have the U.S. citizens interest at heart to do that. nt

[mike_c]

2. it is time to choke the military industrial complex....

I think it's doubly ironic that congress and the executive will fight tooth and nail over "spending" to improve the welfare of American citizens but everyone in Washington seems more than willing to throw incredible sums of money at the military and the corporations profiteering from it. Our political priorities are terribly wrong, and no one seems to notice.

[Plucketeer]

4. Yup!

I couldn't have said it better. Sad thing is, it's only a matter of time before all the military hardware we use will come from countries other than ours!

[PsychobluesIsNo1]

5. Bait and Switch

I hope this not another bait and switch by the rightwing/media propagators of WAR.