Rep. Cantor Plays Politics With Troop Funding
In response to Gen. Stanley McChrystal's criticism of Obama administration officials in Rolling Stone, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) blasted Democrats for attaching domestic items to a troop funding bill. In 2007, however, Cantor voted for a Bush war funding bill that included $17 billion in non-troop spending.
Do As I Say...
Cantor Claims Democrats Are "Standing In The Way" Of Troop Funding. In an email to the Washington Post's Greg Sargent, Rep. Cantor's office wrote:
At the moment, Democrats in Congress are standing in the way of a clean bill to fund our troops and provide the resources needed because they want to lard it up with domestic spending. We need to get our troops these funds, and should do so without any pork or unrelated domestic spending items thrown in. [WashingtonPost.com, 6/22/10]
...Not As I Do
In 2007, Cantor Voted H.R. 2206, Appropriating $100 Billion For The War In Iraq. In 2007, Rep. Eric Cantor 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]
