Senate's North-South Rift Blocks Aid Bills

WASHINGTON - Homeowners flooded out by Katrina or shivering from high heating costs are caught in the crossfire of a North versus South battle among Republican senators.

Northern senators want $1 billion more for home heating subsidies to low-income families; southern senators are warning of dire consequences if Congress doesn't give the National Flood Insurance Program more borrowing authority.

Both are blocking the others' bills for leverage, and it likely will take action by the GOP leadership, when the Senate reconvenes next week, to break the deadlock.
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John Hart, spokesman for Coburn, said the senator plans to hold his ground on the issue of LIHEAP and fiscal responsibility. Congress spends billions on pork-barrel projects, Hart said, and Coburn believes that "if Congress decides this is a priority, then Congress should pay for it."

AP/Yahoo

Part of the problem here is that Coburn doesn't understand what constitutes "pork" and what doesn't. "Pork" is building a bridge that doesn't go anywhere. "Pork" is spending to re-name everything after Ronald Reagan. But spending money to save lives (even of people who already exist outside of the womb, Tom) isn't "pork", it's survival. One might call that an "inalienable Right". Entire governments have been instituted to secure those.

Listen to the guy for any length of time and you'll come to realize that he borders on the delusional- and I mean that quite literally.

you believe the government should help poor people or not.

Coburn has made his priorities clear: " Cut taxes AND services. Churches will do what is necessary." Many other Republicans agree (including Lott and Vitter - In this case, they know they cant agree if they want to be reelected).