** Apologies for Cross-Posting **
>From Peter Suber's Open Access News:
http://www.earlham.edu/~pete
rs/fos/2007/11/bush-vetoes-lhhs-appropriations-bill.html
The headline says it all, but here's some detail from
Jennifer
Loven for the Associated Press:
http://www.
sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/11/13/national/w0
74425S75.DTL&type=politics
"President Bush, escalating his budget battle
with Congress,
on Tuesday vetoed a spending measure for health and
education
programs prized by congressional Democrats....
"The president's action was announced on Air
Force One as
Bush flew to New Albany, Ind., on the Ohio River across from
Louisville, Ky., for a speech criticizing the Democratic-led
Congress on its budget priorities.
"In excerpts of his remarks released in advance
by the White
House, Bush hammered Democrats for what he called a
tax-and-spend
philosophy....
"More than any other spending bill, the $606
billion
education and health measure defines the differences between
Bush
and majority Democrats. The House fell three votes short of
winning a veto-proof margin as it sent the measure to Bush.
"Rep. David Obey, the Democratic chairman of the
House
Appropriations Committee, pounced immediately on Bush's
veto.
"'This is a bipartisan bill supported by over 50
Republicans," Obey said. "There has been virtually
no criticism
of its contents. It is clear the only reason the president
vetoed
this bill is pure politics."
"Since winning re-election, Bush has sought to
cut the
labor, health and education measure below the prior year
level.
But lawmakers have rejected the cuts. The budget that Bush
presented in February sought almost $4 billion in cuts to
this
year's bill.
"Democrats responded by adding $10 billion to
Bush's request
for the 2008 bill. Democrats say spending increases for
domestic
programs are small compared with Bush's pending war request
totaling almost $200 billion...."
Comments from Peter Suber:
* First, don't panic. This has been expected for
months and the
fight is not over. Here's a reminder from my
November newsletter:
* "There are two reasons not to despair if
President Bush vetoes the
LHHS appropriations bill later this month. If
Congress overrides
the veto, then the OA mandate language will become
law. Just like
that. If Congress fails to override the veto, and
modifies the
LHHS appropriation instead, then the OA mandate is
likely to
survive intact." (See the rest of the
newsletter for details on
both possibilities.)
* Also as expected, Bush vetoed the bill for its high
level of
spending, not for its OA provision.
* Second, it's time for US citizens to contact their
Congressional
delegations again. This time around, contact your
Representative
in the House as well as your two Senators. The
message is: vote
yes on an override of the President's veto of the
LHHS
appropriations bill. (Note that the LHHS
appropriations bill
contains much more than the provision mandating OA
at the NIH.)
* The override vote hasn't yet been scheduled. It may
come this
week or it may be delayed until after Thanksgiving.
But it will
come and it's not too early to contact your
Congressional
delegation. For the contact info for your
representatives (phone,
email, fax, local offices), see CongressMerge.
* Please spread the word!
Peter Suber, Open Access News
http://www.earlham.edu/~pete
rs/fos/2007/11/bush-vetoes-lhhs-appropriations-bill.html
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