House OKs war funding with add-ons for education
31 December 2010Originally published Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 9:24 PM
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House OKs war funding with add-ons for educationDemocrats controlling the House muscled through a plan Thursday to finance President Obama's troop buildup in Afghanistan, but only after sweetening the measure with last-ditch moves to salvage their faltering jobs agenda
The Associated Press
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CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES
An honor guard carries Sen. Robert Byrd's flag-draped casket out of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. Byrd lay in repose inside the Senate chamber for six hours Thursday before being taken to West Virginia for Friday's memorial services
The day in D.C
Byrd farewell: The Senate bid farewell Thursday to Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who died Monday at 92. He lay in repose in the Senate for six hours while senators â past and present â and Capitol Hill employees lined up to pay their final respects. Byrd's casket was flown to Charleston, W.Va., for a 12-hour public viewing. A memorial service to be led by President Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden was scheduled for Friday in Charleston. Byrd will be buried Tuesday at Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Va
Jobless benefits: The House voted 270-153 Thursday to extend jobless benefits for people who have been laid off for long stretches, but the gesture was made futile by the Senate's inability to pass the bill. More than 1.3 million laid-off workers won't get their unemployment benefits reinstated before Congress goes on a weeklong break
Cantwell shift: Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said she will back an overhaul of financial regulations, a decision that eases the path for the bill's final passage. She said the new version of the bill contains the tougher measures she supports. She was one of two Democrats who had opposed a Senate version of the bill last May. The Senate won't act until after the break
Kagan hearings: Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan concluded Thursday. The panel will vote after the Senate returns from its weeklong break, sending her nomination to the full chamber in late July
Seattle Times news services
WASHINGTON â Democrats controlling the House muscled through a plan Thursday to finance President Obama's troop buildup, but only after sweetening the measure with last-ditch moves to salvage their faltering jobs agenda
Long delayed, the approximately $80 billion bill was passed amid building pressure on Democrats to act before their weeklong Fourth of July break begins. But the Senate approved a significantly slimmer measure in May and it'll take additional weeks to reconcile the differences between the two battling chambers
The crucial vote to advance the measure under unusually convoluted floor rules came on a 215-210 tally to bring up the nearly $60 billion Senate-passed measure for debate. Democrats added more than $20 billion for domestic programs late Thursday, including $10 billion in grants to school districts to avoid teacher layoffs, $5 billion for Pell Grants to low-income college students and $700 million to improve security along the U.S.-Mexico border
Black lawmakers won add-ons of their own, including a $1 billion summer-jobs initiative for young people and money to pay discrimination claims by black farmers against the Agriculture Department
The White House weighed in with a veto threat over $800 million in cuts to education programs. The cuts would be used to help pay for the additional domestic spending
The $60 billion Senate-passed measure blends $30 billion for the influx of 30,000 troops into Afghanistan with money for disaster-aid accounts, foreign aid and disability benefits for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange
The Senate passed it in May
The House measure will receive a cold reception from Senate Republicans, who would have the votes to filibuster it, according to Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi
House Republicans supportive of the Afghanistan effort voted against the measure, angered that Democrats were using the must-pass legislation to try to advance unrelated spending
"The Democrat majority is treating this troop funding bill like a cash cow for their election-year wish-list," said Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif
But top Democrats such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., insisted on adding the domestic dollars, viewing the war-funding bill as their last, best shot to resuscitate their faltering jobs agenda. The money was critical to winning support from Democrats frustrated over deepening Senate gridlock that has killed $24 billion in aid to cash-starved states. Need to know more about house sign?
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Comments (7) Hide comments / Show comments WAIT!!! I thought the democrats were AGAINST the wars? WHICH IS IT????  Posted on July 2, 2010 at 8:53 AM by mmstrouble. Jump to comment Ah, so that's the solution! Just attach domestic spending to funding for the imperial oil wars, & these bloodthirsty loosers will pass...  Posted on July 2, 2010 at 5:57 AM by eastside_guy. Jump to comment democrats / republicans -- for the most part warmongers and perpetuators of the U.S. empire  Posted on July 2, 2010 at 12:18 PM by Unaffiliated. Jump to comment Read all comments / Share your thoughts
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