The Blue State

Bush to veto Homeland Security bill that would increase border protection

By a 268 to 150 vote, not enough to override a likely veto, the Democratic-led House of Representatives passed a $37.4 billion Homeland Security budget bill aimed at strengthening national defense.  The White House is upset because the bill exceeds Bush's request by $2.1 billion.  He is planning to veto it.

So what will Bush be vetoing?  Here is what the bill contains:

• Funds the hiring of 3,000 additional border agents.
• Ignores the Bush request to cut funds for first responders.
• Doubles the amount of air cargo that is screened.
• Doubles the amount of grants given to local communities for port security and mass transit.
• Increases in medical funds for veterans.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer cannot quite understand why Bush could veto the bill with a straight face:

"We are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq," said House Majorityleader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. "Given our continuing homeland securityvulnerabilities, we can surely find $2 billion to keep the Americanpeople safer at home."

Maybe Bush's veto promise came as a result of the unified pressure this week from conservative activists and Republican lawmakers, who asked for the White House to curb spending by vetoing more bills.  Now it appears the White House will do just that.

By analogy, if you believe we went to war just for the sake of going to war, then this is an example of vetoing bill just for the sake of vetoing one.

Hoyer tells Congress to get ready for work

For the first time in quite awhile, the House of Representatives will work five days each week for an entire month.  New House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer gave a reality check to any Congressman who thought they could continue to slack off while on the job:

Forget the minimum wage. Or outsourcing jobs overseas. The laborissue most on the minds of members of Congress yesterday was their own:They will have to work five days a week starting in January.

The horror.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who will become House majority leader and iswriting the schedule for the next Congress, said members should expectlonger hours than the brief week they have grown accustomed to.

"Ihave bad news for you," Hoyer told reporters. "Those trips you hadplanned in January, forget 'em. We will be working almost every day inJanuary, starting with the 4th."

The reporters groaned. "I know, it's awful, isn't it?" Hoyer empathized.

Our system works!  It's called checks and balances.  The Republican Congress gave themselves pay-raises, while working less hours and refusing to raise the minimum wage for millions of Americans.  Voters had enough and decided to kick the bums out.  Now we can finally get to work on the people's business.

And remember, usually Congress takes the gavel on January 4th and then adjourns until after the State of the Union Address later that month.  However, Pelosi and Hoyer want to get right to work.  The first 100 hours starts on January 4th, and then continues throughout the month.  That is called going above and behind the call of duty (sorry for the cliche, but it's true).

Hoyer's impact in '06 campaign paid off

Steny Hoyer's dedication in terms of helping Democratic candidates elected was, in the end, the difference-maker in yesterday's closed-door vote for House Majority Leader.  The Washington Post elaborated on Friday morning:

Congenial and diligent, Hoyer scored big points with his colleaguesby laboring in the trenches throughout the 2006 campaign season. Heraised money, helped recruit candidates and appeared at events acrossthe country. When Congress was in session, he was a fixture on theHouse floor as the Democratic whip, cajoling colleagues to sticktogether on tough votes. And when Democrats won a House majority lastweek, Hoyer received a large share of the credit.

But why the 40-year friendship between Pelosi and Hoyer came to a sudden halt is still a mystery:

The two Maryland natives first met in the 1960s, while serving asinterns in the office of Sen. Daniel B. Brewster (D-Md.). Pelosi helpedHoyer in his race for majority whip against David E. Bonior (Mich.) in1991. Ten years later, Bonior gave up his post, and Hoyer's competitionwas Pelosi.

The race was long and bitter. Hoyer ran as the moremoderate and experienced candidate, while Pelosi portrayed herself asforward-thinking and progressive.

That is what power can do to people.  When you and someone else help one other up the ladder, only in the end to find the both of you on top, your only competition is one another, and a political war ensues.  Pelosi may have been a bit paranoid about Hoyer's ambitious attitude, and could have thought that if Hoyer got the Majority Leader position he would eventually try to become Speaker.  So she had every reason to support Murtha, who had never been disloyal to her.

Let this experience be a lesson to Pelosi.  If she messes up, Steny Hoyer, the number two person, has the support to take her out.  He will be breathing down her neck the entire time.  It's not her show like she thought it was going to be.  Hopefully that motivates Pelosi to be an efficient manager of the Democratic House majority so that a face-off with Hoyer never has to happen.  In that sense, Hoyer's victory was a net-plus for the country because more will get done in the House.