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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: goldworldnet who wrote (700705)	9/8/2005 2:34:41 PM
From: Bill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Where did it go?

To: goldworldnet who wrote (700705)	9/8/2005 3:26:30 PM
From: Mr. Palau	Respond to of 769670

Notwithstanding his rightist views, GW's never been bashful about spending government funds.

To: goldworldnet who wrote (700705)	9/8/2005 5:37:43 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 769670

The tab should approximately run to the same expense as one year in Iraq (at current, higher annual Iraq cost)... give or take a few billions.

To: goldworldnet who wrote (700705)	9/8/2005 6:02:53 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Lawmakers fret costs as hurricane aid set to pass By Richard Cowan news.yahoo.com The U.S. Congress was set to pass $51.8 billion in new hurricane relief on Thursday as lawmakers grew increasingly nervous about the staggering bill at the same time the Iraq war is being waged. The federal government exhausted a $10.5 billion fund approved by Congress just a week ago, and lawmakers quickly began considering additional emergency funds for hard-hit Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and other Gulf Coast areas. Lawmakers were overwhelmed by the latest estimates, which put the overall rescue and rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina in the range of $150 billion to $200 billion. About $300 billion has been spent on the Iraq war since 2003. With polls showing voters worried about how the war in Iraq is being handled and the White House facing criticism that disaster response was too little and too late, Republicans and Democrats in Congress attempted to gain some control over the billions being hurriedly approved. "It's just a lot of money and people are worried that it's done correctly," said Rep. Ray LaHood (news, bio, voting record), an Illinois Republican who serves on the House Appropriations Committee. LaHood told Reuters that conservatives pressed Bush administration officials for assurances of proper oversight of the funds that will be used to clean up a devastated New Orleans and rebuild highways, utilities and businesses. As a result, the $51.8 billion bill would set aside $15 million for federal auditors to watch over the spending. Rep. David Obey (news, bio, voting record) of Wisconsin, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, had a broader goal of restructuring the embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency that is overseeing the response to Hurricane Katrina. Obey said he would offer an amendment to the emergency spending bill to restore FEMA's status as an independent, Cabinet-level agency and require that its director have substantial experience in disaster relief. In a post-September 11 shake-up, FEMA became part of the new Department of Homeland Security. "The problem is the agency we are appropriating money to has demonstrated with great clarity that it is spectacularly dysfunctional," Obey said on the House floor. But his amendment was expected to be blocked by the Republican leadership, which wants to pass the bill quickly, especially with Vice President Richard Cheney touring Mississippi on Thursday. Conservative House Republicans presented their fiscal concerns to White House officials late Wednesday, in a session that several of the lawmakers described as "a tough meeting." FEARS OF MORE COSTS TO COME Rep. Randy Cunningham (news, bio, voting record), a California Republican who also serves on the House Appropriations Committee, told Reuters after the meeting that conservatives fretted about the huge relief costs with "more storms (gathering off the southern coast), the Iraq war and health care" costs that are rapidly escalating for the federal government. Cunningham said that none of those Republicans suggested scaling back costly tax-cut proposals they have advanced for the past few years. Instead, he said they urged the Bush administration to look at ways to save on Gulf Coast reconstruction by waiving rules requiring union laborers for upcoming federal contracts. Meanwhile, lawmakers continued to question the efficiency of FEMA's relief efforts. Cunningham complained that FEMA was passing out emergency telephone numbers to people with no telephone service and no electricity to recharge their mobile phones. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, said he had heard reports that recreational vehicle dealerships in his state were being told to transfer their gasoline-guzzling inventories to the federal government. "I would hope that before we buy up all the Winnebagos in America and send them to the Gulf Coast (for temporary housing) that we would be thinking about the cost of that and ... whether that's the best way to proceed," Gregg said on the Senate floor. Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.