Congressman Jack Kingston - First District of Georgia

Washington, May 5, 2006 - Last night, the U.S. Senate passed an "emergency" spending bill with a price tag of about $109 billion which was over $14.4 billion more than the President requested. The Senate thought they could get away with stuffing the bill full of pork projects which had nothing or little do with the war effort or hurricane relief. That's before they ran in to a brick wall in the House of Representatives. In fact, the Speaker called the bill "dead on arrival" and the Majority Leader tactfully shared this exchange with a reporter:

Question: "Despite the President's veto threat, the Senate has added over $14 billion to the emergency supplemental bill..."

Majority Leader Boehner: "The House will not take up an emergency supplemental spending bill for Katrin adn the War in IRaq that spends one dollar more than what the President asked for. Period." (Audio Here.)

"The Speaker and the Majority Leader just served up a dish of fiscal responsibility and restraint which should send a clear message to the Senate that the buffet line is closing down," Kingston said. "I'm proud of the President, the Speaker and the Majority Leader for drawing a firm line in the sand and I look forward to standing with them on that line."

If ever a bill deserved a veto, this is it. The ball of blubber rolled out of the world's greatest spending body at $108.9 billion, a mere $14.4 billion more than Mr. Bush requested.