MoveOn: click tosign petition against Budget Bill looting, Media, overtime

[papau]

Dear MoveOn member,

Over the last eight months, we've fought to stop President Bush from getting rid of overtime and to stop the FCC from changing its media ownership rules. Amazingly, we've won. But today, both of these victories are at risk.

Bush is now pushing Congress to approve one of the biggest spending bills in its history -- 820 billion dollars. He's also cutting lots of last-minute, back-room deals that would reverse our victories on overtime and on media ownership, while taking corporate giveaways to a whole new level.

And he's trying to force votes on this 400 page bill before Democrats have had a chance to read it.

Join us in calling on Congress to stop this bill, at:
http://www.moveon.org/looting/

Giveaways in the bill include:
· Allowing media giants to monopolize even more local media outlets than before. Companies like Fox that have bought more outlets than current law allows would now be allowed to keep them. In fact, this bill raises the limit to just the amount that Fox needs. (Washington Post, 11/30/03)
· Rolling back rules requiring that people be paid for overtime. Eight million hard-working families count on these fair compensation rules.

These terrible provisions, and others, were added at the last minute by top Republican negotiators. The final bill was first shared with Democrats the day they were leaving for Thanksgiving (Tues., Nov. 25th), in an obvious attempt to force an immediate vote, sight unseen.

Instead, Congress is returning for a special session next week. The House is expected to vote on the bill on Monday, December 8th. The Senate is being asked to approve it on Tuesday the 9th.

But as Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) said, "A legislator would have to have rocks in their head to agree to something they haven't yet read."

We couldn't agree more.

Especially when you consider that majorities in both houses of Congress have already rejected both the media ownership change and the overtime rollback -- with strong support from MoveOn members in both cases. President Bush couldn't get what he wanted through a straight democratic process, so now, once again, he's trying to force his agenda down our throats with strong-arm tactics.

Process aside, the spending itself is also outrageous. It's part of a long pattern of Bush spending billions of our tax dollars to reward his friends and campaign contributors, a pattern the Nobel prize-winning economist George Akerlof has described as "a form of looting." (Der Spiegel, 7/29/03)

And our nation is suffering as a result.

Click on http://www.moveon.org/looting/?id=2172-3047713-CB.cxFMsgFEEA8VYZbcsXQ To “sign” petition against these backroom deals.

Congress recently approved $87 billion for the Iraq war, much of it going to contractors like Halliburton through expensive no-bid deals...While Bush deals out giant subsidies to corporations and tax cuts for the super-rich, our kids go without healthcare, our teachers get laid off, and the deficit gets bigger and bigger. So the kids we're shortchanging today will get stuck with the bill tomorrow.

[grannylib]

1. Done...not that anyone will pay attention...but done!