More Iraq $ on the way?

by Kagro X

Mon Jun 09, 2008 at 10:50:11 AM PDT

The House has another snoozer of a week coming up, with a whopping 37 suspensions on the calendar, to be followed by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2008.

Hoo-wee!

But hey, that's the reality of life in Congress. It's not all the glamorous stuff that makes people send you hate mail, you know.

There is one bill of general interest looming, however, and that's the latest Iraq war funding bill, which could reach the floor this week depending on how final negotiations go. The funding comes once again in the form of an "emergency" supplemental -- the eighth such "emergency" bill of the Bush "administration" (not counting two additional "bridge funding" Iraq appropriations bills, which we're supposed to think are some other species of "Oh crap, we need more money again" bills).

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) says he'd like to see the bill get to the floor "earlier rather than later" in the week, which would likely mean Wednesday or Thursday rather than sticking around for big votes on Friday. Yes, most people would consider Monday or Tuesday "earlier," but 37 suspensions is quite a load. And frankly, they'll need it, since it's not at all clear that negotiations have progressed with regard to what should be in this bill.

What's to negotiate? Well, there's the question of whether or not to keep provisions extending unemployment benefits? And how about Senator Webb's "new GI bill?" Together, they add some $60 billion or so on top of the $108 billion that Bush says is the cap beyond which he'd veto the bill. But federal unemployment stats show the biggest monthly spike in the unemployment rate in over 20 years. And the GI bill is a no-brainer. Still, Blue Dogs in the House are balking at the lack of offsets to pay for these measures, and the Senate has already rejected tax increases on the top income brackets the Blue Dogs proposed as an answer.

To top it all off, we're back where we were last year on this issue, with the "Commander in Chief" threatening to hold the troops hostage if Congress doesn't rubber stamp his funding request. And that doesn't just mean giving him every dollar he asks for. It also means not giving him a penny more. Because he's "fiscally responsible!" This is something of a repeat of last year's battle, but with a new twist. In addition to his annual threat to veto any bill exceeding his request,

Bush said that if Congress does not act promptly, "critical accounts at the Department of Defense will soon run dry." He added that civilian employees may face "temporary layoffs," and the Pentagon would be forced to "close down a vital program that is getting potential insurgents off the streets and into jobs." If the supplemental spending bill is not enacted after July, Bush said, the department would "no longer be able to pay our troops," including ones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Let's let VetVoice's Brandon Friedman tell you about that one:

I just want to be clear about two points:

1. Insurgents kill Americans. So when the President says that the Pentagon would be forced to "close down" a program that gets "potential insurgents off the streets," he's really saying that he'll deliberately allow the threat to American troops in Iraq increase if he doesn't get his money. He's playing chicken with Congress at the expense of American lives in Iraq. Make no mistake about it: More insurgents on the streets would lead to more American deaths.

Perhaps someone knows more about this than I do, but I suspect Bush might be setting a precedent here. I'm not sure this has ever happened before.

2. Bush is also threatening to stop paying troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is funny, because I don't hear him threatening to cut the contracts of Halliburton, Blackwater, SAIC, and DynCorp--and thus cutting their employees' inflated salaries.

This is a clear indication that the Bush administration is more loyal to contractors than to soldiers. When forced to cut spending, Bush would rather starve members of the Armed Forces than cut the exorbitant pay checks given to those who work for privatized military companies.

That's some Commander Guy we've got there, ain't it?

So what will the Congress be doing this week? Falling all over itself in the rush to knuckle under, of course. But not before taking a few minutes to posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Constantino Brumidi. Which is nice. Don't get me wrong.