Tuesday, December 20, 2005
The "Freedom Fries" Gang and Their Budget Bill
They are looking after welfare of the usual suspects
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The Washington Post reported: "House passage early yesterday of major budget-cutting legislation and authority to drill for oil in the Alaskan wilderness touched off fierce resistance in the Senate, where Democrats and moderate Republicans threaten to derail the legislation over concerns about the impact on the poor and the environment." Not only the ANWR is in danger but Medicaid recipients and students in need of financial assistance are also targets of proposed cuts in the budget while the Bush tax cuts remain inviolate !
Excerpt:
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Excerpt:
- In an unusual pre-dawn vote yesterday, the House narrowly passed a broad five-year budget plan to cut spending on Medicaid, student loans and other entitlement programs by $39.7 billion. That 212 to 206 vote, concluded at 6:07 a.m., came one hour and three minutes after the House voted 308 to 106 on a 2006 defense spending bill that included a provision opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, a move long sought by President Bush, energy companies and Republican leaders.
The Republicans mounted a sneak attack by attaching the drilling provision to the defense spending bill. In a filibuster it would require only a 51-vote majority for passage. If it were a separate legislation then a 60-vote majority would have been needed. Opponents will try to strip the provision from the budget bill during debates which have commenced in the Senate. The VP is expected to emerge from his bunker to be available to cast a tie breaker.
