Tom Harkin: “I am disappointed with the omnibus appropriations bill that is before us today. With the McConnell amendment, this…”

“I am disappointed with the omnibus appropriations bill that is before us today. With the McConnell amendment, this omnibus bill will write yet another blank check--this one for a whopping $70 billion--for the President to spend on his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, this bill will grossly underfund urgent priorities here at home--everything from cancer research to law enforcement to home heating assistance. And why is this happening? It is happening because President Bush has refused to compromise, refused to negotiate, refused to respect Congress as a coequal partner in the budgeting process. The President claims that he is standing on principle, the principle of budget restraint and fiscal conservatism. But this claim is laughable. Think about it: Mr. Bush provoked a bitter confrontation with Congress over the $22 billion that we proposed spending on urgent domestic priorities above his budget request. Democrats offered to split the difference, lowering that amount to $11 billion. But Mr. Bush still refused to negotiate or compromise. Meanwhile, he and his allies have insisted on vastly more than that-- a total of $144 billion--for the war in Iraq this year, all of which will simply be added to the deficit. At the same time, he demands a $50 billion AMT fix--which we all favor--but he insists that we not pay for it. That's another $50 billion piled onto the deficit.”