Mis-Appropriations

It always amazes me that people are willing to shove huge amounts of money out the door [to pay for wars], but are often unwilling to provide tiny amounts to prevent them.

So said Representative David Obey (D-Wis.) upon the approval of a spending bill in the GOP-led appropriations sub-committee of which he is a member. The bill, heading to the full House Appropriations Committee for approval, allots $20.27 billion for foreign aid to poor nations. This is a full $2 billion less than President Bush requested and is dwarfed by the proposed military budget of $350 billion.