House Passes $118.7B Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill
The House on Friday voted 409-4 to approve a $118.7 billion fiscal year 2009 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill (HR 6599), CQ Today reports.
The legislation includes $72.7 billion in discretionary spending, an $8.8 billion increase from FY 2008 and $3.4 billion more than President Bush requested (Johnson, CQ Today, 8/1). Under the bill, VA would receive $47.7 billion in discretionary spending, a $4.6 billion increase from FY 2008 and $2.9 billion more than Bush requested (Sanchez, CongressDaily, 8/1). Before the passage of the bill, lawmakers proposed four amendments related to health care for veterans, three of which were withdrawn and one of which was denied a vote on a point of order (CQ Today, 8/1).
The White House on Wednesday said that Bush would veto the bill unless Congress finds $2.9 billion in offsets in other appropriations bills to meet the overall spending level he requested (CongressDaily, 8/1). However, "Democrats are determined to boost spending for key domestic priorities -- and for veterans," CQ Today reports. According to a Senate Appropriations Committee aide, the Senate plans to consider a different version of the bill (S 3301) in September (CQ Today, 8/1).
