Rep. Bachmann: Do As I Say, Not As I Do
On June 3, 2009, Rep. Michele Bachmann wrote a blog post on Townhall in which she criticized Congressional Democrats for including "non-troop items" in a war funding bill. Rep. Bachmann must have a short memory because in 2007, she voted for a Bush war funding bill that included $17 billion in the "non-troop items" she now loathes.
Sound familiar? It should. As Media Matters Action Network has noted, Reps. Cantor and Jerry Lewis have similarly short memories.
Rep. Bachmann Criticized Democrats For Including "Non-Troop Items" In $100 Billion War Funding Bill
Rep. Bachmann Criticized Democrats For Including "Non-Troop Items" In War Funding Bill. In a blog post on Townhall Rep. Michele Bachmann wrote:
Congress is currently working with the White House to hammer out a funding bill to pay for ongoing military operations overseas, but this war supplemental is becoming increasingly loaded with funding for projects not related to our troops.
[...]
According to Capitol Hill newspaper, Politico, the President has some other non-troop items to add to the war supplemental, including $2 billion to address future bouts with swine flu and an extra $200 million for refugee aid in Pakistan.
Troop funding should be troop funding and that's it. The men and women in uniform should not be held hostage to Speaker Pelosi and President Obama's pet projects. [Bachmann Blog Post, Townhall, 6/3/09]
Yet She Voted For A $100 Billion Bush War Funding Bill Loaded Down With "Non-Troop Items"
In 2007, Bachmann Voted H.R. 2206, Appropriating $100 Billion For The War In Iraq. In 2007, Rep. Michele Bachmann voted for H.R. 2206, a bill providing $100 billion in funding for ongoing military operations in Iraq. [H.R. 2206, Vote #181, 5/24/07; Washington Post Votes Database Project, accessed 6/3/09]
The War Funding Bill Included $17 Billion In Domestic Spending. According to the Washington Post votes database project, the bill also included:
Seventeen billion dollars in the package is for domestic spending. Out of this funding, $6.4 billion is for Gulf Coast hurricane relief efforts, $3 billion in emergency aid for farmers, $1 billion to upgrade port and mass transit security, $3 billion towards converting closing U.S. military bases to other uses, and $650 million to increase funding for children's health care. A Congressional Research Service summary states that the "other domestic beneficiaries include state HIV grant programs, mine safety research, youth violence prevention activities, and pandemic flu protection." [Washington Post Votes Database Project, accessed 6/3/09]
