House OKs War Funding, Flood Relief

House leaders in both parties have announced a deal on a long-overdue war funding bill. They say President Bush will sign it.

The agreement on the war funding bill, announced by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and GOP leader John Boehner, paves the way for billions of dollars in emergency flood relief for the Midwest, an extension of unemployment payments for people whose benefits have run out and a big boost in GI Bill college benefits for veterans.

It would also provide about $165 billion to the Pentagon to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for about a year. That's enough time for Bush's successor to set Iraq policy.

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 were 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.

There are an awful lot of people who said at the time the FISA/Patriot Act security versus constitution controversies were being broadcast, that if you''re not a terrorist, you don''t have to worry about anything, they can tap my phones read my library list covertly investigate my personal life without any court warrant at anytime as long as there isn''t another 9/11. Where was your protest then! Some of you even said that the Bush administration and those Patriotic phone corporations that choose to break the law were serving our country even though there were several companies approached by the Administration that rebuked them on there face citing the then known illegality of the whole pursuit. Also, for the gentlemen who says that "You DO NOT and NEVER combine war spending bills with ANY *** THING ELSE," Have you forgotten that war spending should be reflected as part of the budget instead of unlimited supplemental requests by the administration in order to escape yearly budget itemizing along with other accounting tricks such as the infamous magic asterisk which has the power of allowing it''s user to argue budget spending increases that nullify inflation only and the net effect of (-1+1=0) are actually an increase in spending because you had to add 1 to the budget hmm where%u2019s the -1. The fact is the Dem Congress has passed a # of bills that fulfilled there obligations and promises to there electorates and constituents only to meet a swift and bill killing Presidential Veto.

[ken20081]

You Bush-biased idiots - what in hell is good about prolonging the blood bath our poor troops and the Iraqi people are living with day-to-day!!! Also, we all complained bitterly about the heat last week -well, it''s over 100 degrees DAILY in Iraq with insects, sand and basic rations -plus the threat of explsive death present at all times. You ***** haven''t an ounce of human empathy. If you were there, you wouldn''t think this was such a "good idea." *** is what I would call you but I woulnd''t want to insult the *** of the world!!

[lewiston14]

These protracted punch pulling battles are the reason these thing last as long as they do. Do you think the Germans cared what their V2 rockets hit NO

[lewiston14]

armydog2: "leave the Soldiers who are in harms way there without what they need?"

No Either blow up the entire place up or get the Soldiers out of there.

[armydog2]

What is Congress supposed to do leave the Soldiers who are in harms way there without what they need? The GI Bill is absolutely necessary we owe our Veterans at least that much. I do not support bush or his war, Our Military has my Support 100% and if this is what it takes to get more benefits for them so be it.

[feelfree4u]

re: "Approval Paves Way For Billions In Relief; Bush Expected To Sign Funding Bill"

Nice job Congress!

I barely even noticed that you squandered more billion$ and billion$ on shameful, illegal, and self-defeating war of aggression.

[oneworldusa]

I know there''s a lot of dissention and dissatisfaction now regarding the Bush administration, and I too, am unhappy.

However, one of the greatest freedoms we have as Americans is the right to leave, if we wish, for any reason. Some people don''t even have the right to leave.

So, the options are, deal with it, take some kind of responsible action about what one disagrees with, or leave. Those are our choices.

[oneworldusa]

It should be illegal to present bills of differing issues. Just one at a time. This is why its called politics, folks.

This is also why candidates want to slam each other for supporting or not supporting a bill. Many times its not the ''primary'' reason for the bill that is rejected, but all the stipulations and other issues attached that cause someone to either vote for or against the bill.

This is why we have to do our homework. As voters, we have a right to see the bills. We need to do more of this rather than let some blanket statement guide our decisions.

[watcher269-2009]

This is totally unethical and ought to be illegal. Here they present a tandem bill with two totally unrelated provisions as a why of political appeasement. We put the democrats in congress to hold George W. Bush and his Administration accountable for their war crimes adn we put them in control of congress to end this war!!!!

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Where you been - this is how it''s done in Washington - that''s why all politicians don''t want people to vote - and if people do vote - well there''s always the electoral college to change the votes of the people because the people in the Electoral college think that you are too STUPID to know how to vote correctly.

Ahhhh, America - gotta love it.

[randynason]

The only thing that will make me feel any better about this horrible mess we find ourselves in is to try President Dipsh*t for his war crimes. That would be worth some of the trouble. Not all- but enough to offer a faint, weak glimmer of some semblance of half-as*ed justice. W''d''ya say, Congress? Got any guts to do the right thing?!!