President Bush initially threatened to veto the House version of the latest "emergency" spending bill for the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina relief because it included a provision barring Dubai Ports World (DPW), owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, from managing port operations in the U.S. He later backed off that threat in the face of overwhelming and well-founded opposition from House Republicans.
Now Bush is threatening to veto the Senate version of the bill, which does not bar DPW from managing U.S. ports, but does include about $18 billion in pork-barrel spending (if you count the $2.3 billion for bird-flu preparedness). Bush had originally requested a $92.2-billion bill, and, in March, the House approved $91.9 billion. The bill approved by the Senate last week is almost $110 billion.
"If they spend more than $92.2 billion plus pandemic flu emergency funds, I will veto the bill," Bush said in a speech last Wednesday, the day before the Senate approved the $110 billion.
