"......The pocket veto means that troops will get a 3 percent raise Jan. 1 instead of the 3.5 percent authorized by the bill.
Bush's decision to use a pocket veto, announced while vacationing at his Texas ranch, means the legislation will die at midnight Dec. 31. This tactic for killing a bill can be used only when Congress is not in session."
Well, once Bush and Congress come to an agreement, the .5% will be paid retroactively back to Jan 1. So active folks will still get their 3.5% either way.
Bush aides said they had signaled concern about the controversial provision for weeks, although there had been no formal veto threat. They said their concern grew urgent recently after a legal review and feedback from U.S. diplomats in Iraq and Iraqi leaders.
The disputed section of the bill would reshape Iraq's immunity to lawsuits, exposing the new government to litigation in U.S. courts stemming from treatment of Americans in Iraq during Saddam's reign. Even cases that had once been rejected could be refiled.
Bush's aides warned of a dire scenario — a rush of litigation that could freeze tens of billions of dollars in Iraqi assets being held in U.S. banks. Money at the heart of the Iraqi rebuilding effort would be tied up in court, potentially halting the very stabilization efforts that could get U.S. troops home faster, the aides said.
Unquote:
He basically does not want to set the government up for failure. Lawyers, being the bottom feeders they are, would rape the new government for every penny they could. Lawyers are destroying our healthcare system thru their greed and President Bush didn’t want attorney greed to destroy Iraq, too.
Glad to know that a country takes precedence over taking care of the troops that fight the war and the veterans that are disabled from it. I hope someday someone in our Capitol gets their priorites straight.
Once had a problem with a city council member who was also on the advisory school board...had to remind him which side of the table he was sitting at (city council) and that he needed to be looking after the city's best interests.
Same with our President...seems to have forgotten which side of the table he is sitting at (our's not Iraq's) and he should be more concerned about our rights than Iraq's. Did I really say that?
I agree with you totally. Wonder when Congress and the powers that be will start worrying about bringing the troops home and the care and welfare of all active duty troops and veterans.
I tried to send cards to 'any wounded soldier' to the Vets hospital out here. They refused to accept them because 'they didn't have time or manpower to distribute them.'
Stormy, I am with you. This year I selected the local Veteran Shelter as the key charity for my business. I have already contacted them and am setting up how I can best help them out. The shelter is in really great condition and they serve a lot of meals per day. I want to help these vets get back on their feet again!
For the WMSL folks, one thing to watch for after Congress and the President work this out is section 618. This defense bill authorized off-cycle crewmembers of multi-crewed ships to receive career sea pay.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: 92guru,
Originally posted by 92guru: For the WMSL folks, one thing to watch for after Congress and the President work this out is section 618. This defense bill authorized off-cycle crewmembers of multi-crewed ships to receive career sea pay.
92: We already had that figured out for the WMSL crews and the CRC. We didn't need that. It does not hurt us of course.
By the way, I just typed H.R. 1585 into google. Before you comment on what the news settled on, try that. This is a HUGE amount of stuff. Actually kind of interesting.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mightyz90_93,
Crusty: Get a clue. Due to the work, blood, sweat, tears, and lives of our military the Iraqi people finally have a chance for a stable, effective, democratic government. Every member of the armed forces knows what they are getting into when they volunteer to serve their country. While I certainly agree with you that we need to take care of them, I would say letting the sharks (lawyers) destroy the opportunity they (the veterans) have created for the people of Iraq would be the greater insult.
disagreed Thanks for doing what you can for the vets. Seems to be people ignore what they don't want to see. One trip to a Vets hospital and they have a wake up call. Except the ones I ask don't want to see or hear about our vets. People were so proud of our WW2 Vets, Vietnam was a mess and they called them babykillers. When the Korean war started the draft was in force, one of the kids I went to school with called it 'a college education' He didn't come back.
Yeah, but this also prevents civilian contractors from suing too...it is not a function of our government to prevent private citizens from filing lawsuits against other nations. We should be protecting our citizens not enabling another country to basically get away with whatever they want with full immunity. It isn't as though they don't have money from oil.
