What Does The Stimulus Package Have To Do With Telecom Immunity?
What Does The Stimulus Package Have To Do With Telecom Immunity? — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Care2 Election Blog)
Why is the Bush administration trying to tie the economic stimulus package to giving the telecoms immunity and the surveillance program?
This makes no sense at all to me. Actually, it makes total sense, if you are an administration that wants to hold the American people hostage. [Here are some checks for all of you financially struggling people...But, we are only going to give them to you if your representatives sign a bill to let us spy on you.] What the…what??? This is the kind of thing that makes people feel that their government isn’t looking out for them, and their elected officials can’t be trusted. This is the kind of thing that should not happen.
Senate Democratic leaders said on Thursday that they were short of the 60 votes needed to advance their own $157 billion economic stimulus package and would have no choice but to adopt a less expensive plan approved by the House. Still, Democratic Senate leaders said they hoped to secure some important changes to the House plan when they vote on it, probably on Wednesday
. . .
The Democrats, who held a hastily called meeting on efforts to aid the struggling economy on Thursday morning, also said that they had yet to reach agreement on a long-term extension of the Bush administrations terrorism surveillance program, which Republican leaders have set as a condition for moving the stimulus bill to the floor. President Bush, in Las Vegas, signed a 15-day extension that Congress had approved to allow time to reach a longer-term agreement.
Tell the Senate: NO MORE IMMUNITY for Bush and his telecom buddies.
Links to related posts:
Senate Democrats May Add To $150 Billion Stimulus Package
Bush Stimulus and Tax Rebate Plan
Candidates and Bloggers Respond to Stimulus Plan
Telecom Immunity Bill Vote is Delayed
