Senate Approves Huge Spending Bill After Democrats' Delay

[zimv20]

link (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/22/politics/22CND-SPEN.html?hp)


The Senate gave President Bush and his Republican allies a victory today by approving an $820 billion spending bill covering more than a dozen federal departments and agencies in the fiscal year that began almost four months ago.

The vote was 65 to 28. But that vote was anticlimactic, in a sense, because minutes earlier the chamber had voted, 61-32, to end a delay, or filibuster, that had blocked the measure. The 61 votes were one more than needed to defeat the filibuster.


so what were the dems protesting?


Democrats objected to provisions they said will allow the Bush administration to threaten the overtime pay of millions of workers; relax media ownership rules; and delay a requirement that supermarket meat and produce carry labels identifying them by country of origin. The meatpacking industry and the major organization representing cattlemen oppose the labels.


i don't see anything in those issues that favor citizens over industry.


Mr. McCain had complained that the bill was studded with special-interest, pork-barrel spending. "It's hard to pick the ugliest pig in this sty," he said.


i've not seen the bill, but let's assume senator mccain is correct. if bush signs the bill (which he likely will), what does that say about his anti-pork stance?

[wwworry]

I have heard it contains 10,000 items of pork. The worst ever. What's with these guys?

[Dont Hurt Me]

more pork then any bill before and our so called conservative president signed it. Face it this guy is a spending liberal and the democrats should be hitting him hard but there is only 1 problem, that bill had pork for everyone so what did everyone do? they signed it. Blame congress and this president for not getting the pork out of it. Its time to sweep house again. get rid of the incumbant.

[zimv20]

Originally posted by wwworry
I have heard it contains 10,000 items of pork. The worst ever. What's with these guys?

the american public is too stupid to look beyond bush et. al. saying pork is bad. the message becomes the reality.

if one simply does a 180 on everything bush says, it's pretty easy to predict what's coming next.

[mactastic]

Mmmmmm..... 10,000 items of pork. Arggggggggggg........

[Dont Hurt Me]

so we get a 50 million dollar rain forest in Indiana, we get to pick up rocks on mars and the moon for billions,100 billion to remove Saddam and we have Americans with no healthcare, no jobs as Bush is giving more incentive to move factories overseas. Im ready to jump off the Independent fence and register Democrat and its because of this president.

[zimv20]

according to ABC news, the bill had a last minute, undebated addition -- as a favor to the NRA, the FBI will be required to destroy gun-buying records w/in 24 hours.

[Frohickey]

Originally posted by zimv20
according to ABC news, the bill had a last minute, undebated addition -- as a favor to the NRA, the FBI will be required to destroy gun-buying records w/in 24 hours.

If I am not mistaken, the Brady Bill said that gun-buying records are NOT supposed to be kept at all, if its approved.

If its not approved, then the record can/should be kept as it becomes evidence for criminal prosecution.

Wonder why everyone forgets that fact.

[wwworry]

it also contains provisions that limit overtime pay for thousands of workers.

[wwworry]

actually make that millions of workers

and it relaxes media ownership rules that 97% of the public supported.

doomed until we vote them out....

[Frohickey]

Originally posted by wwworry
actually make that millions of workers

and it relaxes media ownership rules that 97% of the public supported.

doomed until we vote them out....

80 million workers are involved... here is the new regulation (http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/fedreg/proposed/2003033101.pdf)

From a cursory read, it updates a 1949 law (duties) and 1975 law (salary). It updates the exemptions to the overtime pay to include more executive, administrative, professional, computer and sales positions. More of these types would NOT get overtime pay, is the short answer. Long answer is that the rules for determining who is exempt and who is not changes, both from the duties criteria (what they do) and the salary criteria (how much they are paid in relation to the minimum wage).

Dunno if its entirely bad. One thing I know is that it updates a law circa-FDR, so that makes me think its already bad from the start. ;)

[IJ Reilly]

So long as it's ideologically correct then.

[wwworry]

Originally posted by Frohickey
80 million workers are involved... here is the new regulation (http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/fedreg/proposed/2003033101.pdf)

From a cursory read, it updates a 1949 law....

Dunno if its entirely bad. One thing I know is that it updates a law circa-FDR, so that makes me think its already bad from the start. ;)

so you could also say the patriot act is a circa-Clinton law and it must be bad ;)

What it means is millions of dollars out of the pockets of workers and into the pockets of employers. It is simple and yet another wish list iitem from Bush's real constituients - big business. Cheap foriegn labor for those who can't move their plants overseas. Less corporate taxes, less regulation, more subsidies, and no overtime.

The results : fewer jobs, stagnent wages, more national debt, huge profits!

[Frohickey]

Originally posted by wwworry
so you could also say the patriot act is a circa-Clinton law and it must be bad ;)

What it means is millions of dollars out of the pockets of workers and into the pockets of employers. It is simple and yet another wish list iitem from Bush's real constituients - big business. Cheap foriegn labor for those who can't move their plants overseas. Less corporate taxes, less regulation, more subsidies, and no overtime.

The results : fewer jobs, stagnent wages, more national debt, huge profits!

PATRIOT act is circa-Clinton? Are you sure about that? I thought that it was GWBush all the way.

As to FDR-era laws, I'm not the only one. The SCOTUS during that time was striking down FDR-proposed laws left and right. That much is in the history books.

Cheap foreign labor for those who CAN'T move their plants overseas? Huh? Isn't that contradictory?

Like I said, I haven't done a full read on the changes, so I will reserve judgement. It seems that you have done the full read on it, could you elaborate for us then, in gruesome detail? If not, I have provided the link. So, please, read through it before you condemn it.