In the wake of an emergency bailout bill for financial institutions and Wall Street, on Saturday, Sept. 27, the Senate passed a $634 billion measure, needed to keep the government operating beyond the current budget year which ended Tuesday, Sept. 30. The president was expected to sign the bill.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the bill "stands as a reminder of the failure of the Democratic Congress to fund the government in regular order."
Democrats also wanted to avoid an election-year clash with Bush that would have played in his favor. They are willing to take their chances that Democrat Barack Obama will be elected president in November and permit increases for scores of programs squeezed by Bush each year. It is no wonder Sen. Obama stuttered during Friday's debate, when asked what programs would be cut in his administration in light of the current financial crisis.
Democrats ignored the president's threat to veto bills that did not cut the number and cost of pet projects in half or cause agency operating budgets to exceed his request.
Taxpayers for Common Sense discovered 2,322 pet projects totaling $6.6 billion. That included 2,025 in the defense portion alone that cost a total of $4.9 billion. Critics of such projects are likely to discover numerous examples of links to lobbyists and campaign contributions.
Regardless of the crisis this nation faces, it's business as usual for our government.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the bill "stands as a reminder of the failure of the Democratic Congress to fund the government in regular order."
Democrats also wanted to avoid an election-year clash with Bush that would have played in his favor. They are willing to take their chances that Democrat Barack Obama will be elected president in November and permit increases for scores of programs squeezed by Bush each year. It is no wonder Sen. Obama stuttered during Friday's debate, when asked what programs would be cut in his administration in light of the current financial crisis.
Democrats ignored the president's threat to veto bills that did not cut the number and cost of pet projects in half or cause agency operating budgets to exceed his request.
Taxpayers for Common Sense discovered 2,322 pet projects totaling $6.6 billion. That included 2,025 in the defense portion alone that cost a total of $4.9 billion. Critics of such projects are likely to discover numerous examples of links to lobbyists and campaign contributions.
Regardless of the crisis this nation faces, it's business as usual for our government.
