Cord Byrd: “with 3 days to go before the start of the new fiscal year, there is much inside-the-beltway chatter about continuing…”

“with 3 days to go before the start of the new fiscal year, there is much inside-the-beltway chatter about continuing resolutions, omnibuses, minibuses, budget showdowns, and Government shutdowns. Nowhere is that chatter louder than that which is coming from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. The President has threatened almost daily that he will veto any appropriations bill that exceeds his budget request. These veto threats include all of the spending bills that provide funding for our domestic programs--programs that, in one way or another, benefit each American and every American. These bills help to educate our children, help to secure our homeland, help to support rural America, and help to promote a competitive economy. These domestic spending bills provide the essential building blocks for the foundation of our great country. On the one hand, the President is seeking over $190 billion in emergency appropriations to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is $190 billion for the cost of the wars for 1 year--1 year--1 year. At the same time, the President wants to veto critical domestic spending bills because they total $22 billion above his, the President's, budget request--less than 1 percent of our entire budget, and about what we spend in 2 months' time fighting an unpopular war in Iraq.”