All eyes in Washington are focused on whether a veto from President Bush on the emergency supplemental spending bill will require Congress to strip domestic spending from the post-veto version of a measure that topped $123 billion in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.  Both versions contain billions of dollars above the President’s initial request, including Western wildfire suppression funds.

President Bush has threatened to reject the bill (H.R. 1591) if it contains Iraq withdrawal provisions or too much spending for items he considers unnecessary.  The bill would also cover non-security domestic accounts, including Gulf Coast hurricane recovery.  HAI contains to closely monitor this legislation and will provide updates as developments occur in Washington.