WASHINGTON - As Congress takes its Thanksgiving recess, a massive spending package that would earmark billions of dollars for healthcare hangs in limbo.
Compromise couldn't be reached on the FY08 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill proposed by Congressional Democrats to the tune of $606 billion. The measure was vetoed by President Bush on the grounds that it exceeds his target for discretionary spending by nearly $10 billion.
A two-thirds majority needed to override the veto in the House was not reached before Friday, failing by two votes in a 277-141 party-line decision. The House therefore sustained the veto, though a new version of the bill is likely to be introduced in coming weeks.
The vetoed bill would have directed funding into government healthcare organizations such as Medicare, Medicaid and the National Institutes of Health. It also would have allocated $66 million to healthcare IT spending.
Another veto of the spending package can be expected if Democrats don't significantly tighten the belt on certain measures. However, healthcare remains a popular channel for public funds, and Bush may have to allow the bill's healthcare spending to remain intact.
Healthcare industry lobbies have already lashed out against the veto of the initial bill. "The funding levels in this bill would have allowed the National Institutes of Health to support groundbreaking research for heart disease," said the American Heart Association. The House's decision to sustain the veto dealt a "severe blow" to the fight against heart disease, the group said.
Democrats were quick to point out that Bush signed a massive military spending bill while vetoing the labor, health and education package.
"The President again vetoed a bipartisan and fiscally responsible bill that addresses the priorities of the American people: education for our children, assistance in paying skyrocketing energy costs, veterans' healthcare, and other urgent health research on cancer and other serious medical problems," said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Nov. 13. "At the same time, President Bush and his Congressional allies demand hundreds of billions of dollars for the war in Iraq - none of it paid for."