Rage erupts over profiteering clause
Iraq supplemental justified, says GOP
By Klaus Marre
A decision by the House Republicans to strip the Iraq supplemental bill of an anti-profiteering provision has outraged the Democrats.
Some Democrats have accused the White House of pulling the strings on the effort to nix the language.
“The White House and House GOP leadership didn’t want
in there,” charged Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), an author of the language.
The provision — included during the Senate Appropriations Committee markup with unanimous support but removed in conference — would have subjected those who deliberately defrauded the United States or Iraq to jail terms of up to 20 years and costly fines.
Leahy said that, privately, some Republicans told him they though it was a good provision.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), another author of the profiteering provision, called it “shocking” that it was taken out. “Why?” Feinstein asked. “It was a good amendment.”
A Senate Democratic aide said, “Several House Republican conferees were clearly empathetic, but they had to look to a higher authority. That higher authority was the White House, which had sent the marching order to strip this from the bill.”
http://www.thehill.com/news/110503/profiteering.aspx
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no surprise of course, but I just can't believe the audacity of the Repiglicans...
This is so disgusting and evil.
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