Heller Votes to Sustain Bush Veto of H.R. 3043

Cross posted at Desert Beacon

Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV1) and Congressman Jon Porter (R-NV3) were among the 277 members of the House to vote in favor of over-riding the President’s veto of H.R. 3043, the Labor, HHS, and Education funding bill. Representative Dean Heller (R-NV2) voted to sustain the veto. [roll call 1122] The over-ride failed 277 to 141, with 15 members not voting.

The Gavel has a listing of the appropriations in the bill and compares those to the cost of the Iraq occupation, which is evidently of greater importance to Congressman Heller than:

$30 billion for National Institutes of Health medical research;

$14.8 billion for Title I education funds for disadvantaged youngsters;

$11.3 billion for Special Education state grants;

$7 billion for Head Start and Early Childhood Education;

$3.4 billion for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services for Veterans;

$2.4 billion for Heating Assistance for Low Income Families;

$2.2 billion for Community Health Centers;

$1.5 billion for Job Training and Career Placement for Dislocated Workers;

$1.2 billion for Career and Vocational Education;

$1.1 billion for 21^st Century Learning Centers: After School Programs;

$228 million for Veterans’ Employment Programs;

$23.6 million for Homeless Veterans’ Services; and

$9.5 million for programs for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries.

The total expenditures listed above would equal approximately what it’s costing to occupy Iraq for 222 days, 16 hours, and 30 seconds.

So, when Representative Heller says “We Should Support the Troops” one might ask him if he means that we should support them only while they are occupying Iraq and not necessarily after they come home?