[BobbyB]

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday released $3.7 billion in emergency money that Congress requested to care for veterans, including those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.



Bush released the emergency funds even though he said he thought the money should have been considered as part of the normal appropriations process. The emergency money was tucked in a $550 billion government spending measure that Congress passed last month before leaving for the holidays.

"While I believe that these funds should have been considered as regular appropriations, the men and women who have sacrificed for our country should not be held hostage to budgetary wrangling in Washington," Bush said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said the emergency funds were needed because the veterans budget proposed by the president would have underfunded the Veterans Affairs Department at a time when there was a need to expand mental health care, improve treatment for traumatic brain injuries and reverse a claims backlog.

"This could not be allowed to happen," said Akaka, who wrote to the president urging him to release the extra money. "I am relieved that he has seen fit to do so."

Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, also applauded the president's action.

Edwards said the added funding will help pay for more qualified doctors and nurses to improve medical services for veterans.

"For the 400,000 veterans, including combat wounded vets, who are having to wait too long to have their benefits cases reviewed, this bill means over 1,800 new VA case workers to reduce the unacceptable delays in receiving earned benefits," he said. "For veterans with traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, mental health care issues, and lost limbs, this bill means renewed hope to rebuild their lives. For many of the 200,000 homeless veterans in America, it means the dignity of not having to sleep on the streets and hope for a better future."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080117/...N0rV3fKHdX6GMA

[BobbyB]

Olbermann: O'Reilly "laughing at" Edwards' statistic about homeless veterans
Summary: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann criticized Fox News' Bill O'Reilly for ridiculing Sen. John Edwards' assertion that "200,000 men and women who wore uniforms and served this country patriotically as veterans will go to sleep under bridges and on grates." Referring to O'Reilly's pledge to radio host Ed Schultz that "if you know where there's a veteran sleeping under a bridge, you call me immediately, and we will make sure that man does not do it, is not there" after Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America executive director Paul Rieckhoff noted it would cost $15,000 to keep a homeless veteran off the streets for a year, Olbermann said: "OK, Billy, put your money where your mouth is. House every homeless vet tonight, just tonight. That'll be about $6,435,000."


http://mediamatters.org/items/200801170015?f=h_latest

[BobbyB]

[BobbyB]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq thanked U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday for vetoing a defense bill that would have let companies and people win compensation from the new Iraqi government for actions by ousted leader Saddam Hussein.

Bush announced his decision to veto the bill last week, after concluding that the provision allowing lawsuits against Iraq would pose a "grave financial risk" to the country.

"The Iraqi government has expressed its gratitude and appreciation for the efforts of President George Bush in using his veto against the congressional bill which would have cancelled the immunity of Iraq," the Iraqi government said in a statement.

It said that exposure to the lawsuits would have made it difficult for Iraq to finance its budget, pay for food imports or rebuild its security forces with its own funds.

Iraqi officials had complained to the White House about the provision, and eventually persuaded Bush to veto the entire bill, which, among other things, authorized a pay rise for U.S. soldiers.

After Bush announced his veto, Democrats complained that the administration should have raised its objections sooner.

The White House said it had become more acutely aware of the problem after Iraqi officials raised their concerns, and now hopes to quickly pass a new version of the bill without the measure allowing the lawsuits against Iraq.

(Reporting by Peter Graff)
http://www.reuters.com/article/email...E=BuckFush.com