WASHINGTON, June 18, 2008
Congress Moves On Midwest Flood Aid
Lawmakers Negotiate Over How Much Money To Add To Bush's Flood Relief Request
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Play CBS Video Video On The Scene: Midwest Floods Along the rising Mississippi river it's a race to protect homes and businesses. CBS News correspondents report from Iowa and Missouri, and Maggie Rodriguez talks to an Iowa family.
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Video Plight Of The Flooded Farmer Iowa farmer Wayne Shipman talks with Maggie Rodriguez about the devastating floods that have decimated his crops.
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Video 'This Is Our Katrina' Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin explains to Harry Smith the economic affects of the Midwest floods on his state.
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Jacob Willmott, left, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, tears apart the cashier's counter at Jim's Foods after floodwaters receded, Wednesday, June 18, 2008, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The White House is asking Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency disaster aid for the flood-ravaged Midwest. (AP Photo/Kevin Sanders)
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Photo Essay Flood Woes Drift Downriver Residents respond to warnings that up to 30 more levees could overflow along the Mississippi.
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Photos Midwest Floods Powerful storms spawn deadly floods as rivers breach banks and levees.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill negotiated privately Wednesday over how much money to add to President Bush's informal $1.8 billion request for flood relief. Mr. Bush requested funding for the government's main disaster relief fund, as well as help for farmers and small businesses.
A dozen senators in both parties were pressing to add money for levee repair and help for displaced homeowners, among other pressing needs. House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., was cobbling together a bulked-up flood relief package Wednesday afternoon.
Democrats are also seeking to iron out sticking points on the war funding bill, which has been delayed for months amid internal Democratic Party wrangling. Key battles are over how much non-war-related legislation and spending to add to Mr. Bush's war request and whether to abide by rules requiring such add-ons - especially a huge increase in GI Bill college benefits for veterans - to be "paid for" instead of added to the U.S. debt.
In addition to the emergency flood aid, Democrats hope to use the Iraq funding bill as an engine to advance a 13-week extension of unemployment payments for people whose benefits have run out, as well as the GI bill benefits. The GI Bill benefits, originally slated to cost $52 billion over 10 years, would be $10 billion more generous over the same period to meet a Pentagon request to permit service members to transfer them to their spouses or children.
Republicans, meanwhile, seem anxious to reach an agreement to extend unemployment benefits rather than go to the mat to defend a Bush veto.
A senior GOP aide confirmed that Obey spoke Wednesday with Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, in hopes of resolving major problems.
Throughout weeks of behind-the-scenes talks, House Democrats such as Obey have pressed to send Mr. Bush a war funding bill he can sign rather than have a veto override vote that would force anti-war Democrats seeking to defeat Mr. Bush on issues such as extending unemployment benefits to also cast a vote for war money.
The underlying legislation would provide about $165 billion for the Pentagon to carry the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into next year, along with foreign aid, funding for Louisiana levees and minor changes to the current-year budget such as additional money for the Census.
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- DaVicar2
Not unlike living consistently in hurricane prone areas...or on beach front property that erodes or washes out with the slightest surge...but everything else is correct? No problem with the vast difference in the way it has been handled compared to New Orleans? Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeze. - Reply to this comment
- I find it interesting that the media, Congress, or liberal town criers haven''t assaulted us with cries of outrage at the way people in these tragic flood areas have been ignored...left to fend for themselves...without an immediate visit of the President! And when can all these people expect their $1000 debit card to everyone over 18 years of age? How is that? An entire section of the United States ''weathering'' such tragedy...losses in the billions not only in personal property but agriculture as well...and they aren''t blaming everyone from the Mayor to the President for losing everything in the process....or waiting around for the government to mail them their $1000 self-esteem card. Very similar conditions with one exception...the people in the midwest didn''t have 1 week to evacuate the area because they knew that far ahead a storm was coming. Hey! Where did everyone go?
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Re: "Congress Moves On Midwest Flood Aid"
Nice job CBS.
I almost didn''t even notice that our congress just authorized billion$ and billion$ more of borrowed Cinese dollars, to continue our criminal military misadventures.
And check out the Exxon-Mobile ad here. They just bend us over, and laugh, and profit, and laugh...
You might think that an oil company could spare a bit of lube, but nope.- Reply to this comment
