Pelosi Fact Checks Bush Labor-HHS Veto; Prepares Override Effort

Some commentary on this bill; it had the support of 50 Republicans in Congress.  The president vetoed it claiming there was a lot of pork.  But he also signed a $447 billion defense bill to aid the defense department that was loaded with pork too. 

THE FACTS ABOUT THE PRESIDENT’S LABOR-HHS VETO:
Veto Leaves More than 1.5 Million American Families Out In The Cold
The veto places “the well-being of millions of Americans at risk by withholding this support while the costs of health care and energy continue to skyrocket…[AARP urges Congress override the veto]”so that millions of Americans will not be forced to choose between keeping the heat on, feeding their families and paying for health care.”
 –David Sloane, Director of Government Relations, AARP
[AARP Bulletin, 11/07]
But Republicans see heating assistance for families in need differently…
 
“The president has made it very clear that the top line is the top line…The size of the pie is set. The slices he’s willing to work with them on.”
–Minority Leader John Boehner
[CNN, 11/12/07]
Yesterday, President Bush vetoed the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill – a bipartisan and fiscally responsible bill that addresses the needs and priorities of the American people, including home heating assistance for 1.5 million American families through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Sadly, the President rejected this crucial help – calling it “excessive spending.”

The House will soon vote on an override of the President’s cruel veto.
House Republicans, don’t these hard-working American families deserve a slice of the pie?
·        The President’s budget proposes cutting Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) by $379 million.  The Labor HHS Education Appropriations bill rejected this cut – instead providing an increase of $250 million over 2007, enabling 600,000 more families to receive LIHEAP assistance than in 2007 and 1.5 million more families than the President.
·        The cost of home heating oil has nearly tripled since President Bush took office in 2001 – from $627 in 2001-2002 to $1,841 in 2007-2008.