House passes Sweeping Budget Cut Bill (in wee hours after initial defeat)

They are taking from the poor to give to the rich. As we all know by now, it's what they do. But they had to work harder for this vote than they expected to, and some GOP Reps voted nay. Indeed, the bill was initially defeated:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5385081
thread title (11/17 GD): AP/House Democrats Defeat Spending Bill (What a Headline!)
Now it goes to the next stage, moving toward a final combined version for the House and Senate. Disturbingly, not only are some GOP Reps saying they won't vote for the final version (a House/Senate version) unless the ANWR drilling is put back in, this article DOES NOT EVEN MENTION THE DISASTROUS AMENDMENT BY RICHARD POMBO (I'll link to a thread on it below).

Here is the Seattle Post-Intelligencer report on the passage of this sorry POS House Budget Bill:

Thursday, November 17, 2005 · Last updated 11:46 p.m. PT
By ANDREW TAYLOR
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans sweated out a victory on a major budget cut bill in the wee hours Friday, salvaging a major pillar of their agenda despite divisions within the party and nervousness among moderates that the vote could cost them in next year's elections.

The bill, passed 217-215 after a 25-minute-long roll call, makes modest but politically painful cuts across an array of programs for the poor, students and farmers.

The victory on the deficit-control bill came hours after an embarrassing and rare defeat on a $602 billion spending bill for education, health care and job training programs this year. The earlier 224-209 vote halted what had been a steady drive to complete annual appropriations bills freezing many agency budgets.

The broader budget bill would slice almost $50 billion from the deficit by the end of the decade by curbing rapidly growing benefit programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and student loan subsidies. Republicans said reining in such programs whose costs spiral upward each year automatically s the first step to restoring fiscal discipline.

(snip - much more at link)

In addition to the cuts for programs for the most needy, the House omnibus budget bill that just passed in the wee hours of Friday morning carries something else that is truly poisonous: the Pombo amendment. Read about it here;
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5372231

thread title (11/16 GD): PUBLIC LAND GRAB ALERT! LATimes:millions of acres at stake in House bill

I URGE YOU - PLEASE - to read that thread about the Pombo amendment to the House omnibus budget bill. It would allow anyone with money - foreign or domestic - to buy up our public lands for a pittance, rip out the minerals without paying royalties, and not have to restore them after the ravage. Or they can buy up land that doesn't even have signs of minerals and then resell it to developers. Condos on Grand Canyon? In the sacred Black Hills? Tens of millions of acres, possibly a quarter of a BILLION acres, are at risk.

In addition to the devastation and giveaway of our public lands, slipped as a last-minute secret (no public hearings) rider on this bill by Rep. Pombo, this budget takes away basic necessities from those who need it most at the same time that the GOP are STILL trying to pass yet more budget cuts for the most wealthy. Listen to Rep. Taylor (D-Miss) urge resistance to this monstrous bill:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5389047
thread title (11/17 GD): Rep. Gene Taylor of Miss. Tells It Like It Is. Give Him Credit.

There is more fighting ahead. The cuts to student loans, medical coverage and much more must be resisted. And keep an eye on that Pombo amendment outrage, which WASN'T EVEN MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE. Read through the linked DU thread I gave above - or there will be no public lands left anywhere in our once-beautiful country. The GOPs want to convert it all to ready cash, and DAMN their own grandchildren...and ours.

Link Here