Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Excerpted From The Swamp and The Hill:

House minority leader John Boehner accused the Democrats of “playing political games” for stacking the spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…They adamantly opposed including language in the measure that would have required President Bush to begin pulling out troops from Iraq within 30 days once the bill becomes law.

The Democratic leadership split the measure into three parts, so the antiwar members of their party could vote against further war spending, while voting in favor of the overhaul of the GI Bill and extension of the unemployment benefits.

But with 132 Republicans voting present, the bill was defeated by 149-to-141 margin.

“Members voted present today to protest the fact that the exercise that took place on the House floor was nothing more than a cynical scheme to deny our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan the resources they need for success,” Boehner said.

The committee added some controversial provisions that could cost Democrats some GOP support and votes from the conservative wing of their caucus.

For instance, Congress including in the domestic-programs amendment a provision that would help pave the way for undocumented agriculture workers to win legal status, an amendment that could reopen Congress’ rancorous debate over immigration policy.

The supporters of the so-called Ag-Jobs measure, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Larry Craig (R-Idaho), say the five-year program is needed to keep farms operating and crops growing. The provision was added by a 17-12 vote.

But critics say that it amounts to amnesty for people who entered the country illegally, and warn that it could imperil support for the underlying bill.

Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a conservative Democrat who voted against the Feinstein-Craig amendment, said it raises a “red flag.”

By a 20-9 vote, the committee also approved an amendment by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) to increase low-income heating assistance by $1 billion.

The move prompted the ranking member of the committee, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), to warn that a slew of amendments that were being added could lead to a White House veto.

“I think we are getting carried away here with the ease with which we are running up the bill,” Cochran said. “We’re turning this bill into a huge bill to force the administration to veto it.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that the Republicans actions on Thursday demonstrated that they were rudderless.

“With today’s vote, the Republicans have shown that they are confused and are in disarray,” Pelosi said. “House Republicans refused to pay for a war they support, and by voting against the GI bill, they refused to support our veterans when they come home.”

The GI Bill provision was passed by a 256-to-166 margin, with 32 Republicans voting in favor of the measure.

The Pentagon has expressed concerns about that the Webb-Hagel proposal could hurt the military’s retention, and also has called for legislation that would allow for transferability of the entitlement to a family member. Pentagon officials have also noted that World War II veterans were conscripted, while today’s military is an all-volunteer force.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), a presidential candidate and Vietnam veteran, had introduced a competing bill that would place more emphasis on benefits for active service members and allow unused educational benefits to be transferred to family members.

Active-duty vets would receive up to $1,500 per month toward their schooling, an increase from $1,101 under the current Montgomery GI Bill and an additional $500 annually for books.

The proposed overhaul of the GI Bill, which would cost about $52 billion over the next 10 years, would be paid for with a surtax on individuals making over $500,000 per year and couples making more than $1 million.

But Democrats failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed for the GI Bill to overcome a likely Bush veto.

Still, veterans’ groups applauded the House for pushing the measure forward.

“The GI Bill has become an unstoppable force. We have seen incredible support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, but the fight is not over yet,” Paul Rieckhoff, Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said in a statement. “IAVA urges both the Senate and President Bush to demonstrate the same bipartisan commitment to our troops that the House showed today.”

The new GI Bill, which was proposed by Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) would increase benefits for qualified veterans who served at least three years on active of duty to the cost of the most expensive in-state public school in their home state and would include a housing stipend.

The proposal aims to replicate the educational benefits that were offered to World War II veterans.