Funding the War on Sugar Beets

HELLO: PLEASE RE-SUBMIT THIS LIST OF PROVISIONS in the emergency war supplemental “U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Health and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007," AND NEXT TIME INCLUDE THE NAMES OF THOSE IN CONGRESS WHO INITIATED THE PROVISIONS SO WE CAN EMAIL THEM AND TELL THEM WHAT WE REALLY THINK OF THEIR WASTEFUL SPENDING. I'M VERY ANGRY AND I THINK THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW WHO OWNS THE STUPIDITY. SINCERELY, DD IN FLORIDA

We need to support our troops in Iraq. I was born and raised in Northern California (San Francisco Bay Area--North Bay to be exact). If we disarm now, it will help the enemy attack us. The Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, or any other Bay Area bridges could become targets, and it will ruin our economy. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!

I cannot, for the life of me figure out WHY ANY bill should have anything other than what the bill is about. WHY put all the other garbage in a bill that does not have anything to do with the bill????? Isn't there a law or something that prevents this?? Apparently not, someone must see that this happens! SOON!

Arden: Riders are not unique to this bill, they have been going in for at least decades, perhaps centuries. They are used because getting a rider added to a bill is much easier than passing its own bill - so they are used for either trivial things, or unpopular things. They are also used sometimes for sabotage - placing an *extremally* unpopular ammendment on an otherwise popular bill to ensure either its failure or eventual veto.

The most effective places to stick riders are appropriation bills - because they usually providing funding to departments that urgently need it, they tend to get rushed through without a great deal of attention to detail.

I don't think we'll see the end of it anytime soon. When the Rep or Senator adds this pork to a bill, he/she then goes home and brags about the money he/she got for the State or Disctrict.

And we, the voters, then vote for them. They are "effective".

The only thing that word work is a line item veto.

I am not surprised but my dismay over these types of add ons has been consistent since I first started to vote, 44 years ago. I agree that the only truly progressive step to eliminate wasteful spending is a Line-Item Veto legislation. However, I think that getting that done would be equivalent to getting an elephant out of your house through a window. Where are the leaders of the Senate? Have they no shame? Maybe they will some day give Americans what they really want, a goverment of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Pork Barrel Spending indicates that the Senators and Representatives that agree with this kind of spending are telling the American People that they don't care what we think. We need the line item veto.

This is an outrage. Add this to the living condition recently reported at Walter Reed and tell me that anyone Washington supports our troops.
If your not angry, you're not paying attention

A line-item veto would be an effective way to reduce waste, but its far too abusable - it would allow the president to cut any program with which he personally disagreed, even if the majority of congressman/senators were in favour of it. A president could do a lot of damage with a power like that. It would also see a new form of corruption, power-games, as presidents cut programs for purely political reasons - to penalise representatives who are not taking the party line.

One solution that may work would be to adjust the procedures so that bills each have a defining field - a first paragraph that limits their scope - and a prohibition on any ammendment that doesn't stay within this limit. In these Iraqi War funding bills, that scope may say 'Covering issues of military funding and policy within Iraq' - and so any ammendment for domestic pork could be simply thrown out.

Raven,

One way around your objection would be if any item were vetoed by the president, Congress could then re-vote on that specific item.

Hmm... that could work. But there would need to be quite a few safeguards. Starting with requiring only a majority vote to overrule a line-item veto, rather than the two-thirds needed to overrule a conventional bill veto. And make the re-vote manditory - otherwise the president will be able to just stall his veto until the end of session, when there is no time left to vote on it again.

This is so absurd. I have to agree with Mr. Inman...Those of you have been elected to care about America are missing taking care of those who are trying to keep America safe...even when they return from the great sacrifices they have made, to a sub standard system purported to be the best for the best. None of the things on this list are more important than giving American Soldiers what they need to protect their country and to care for them when they are back home.