Supplemental Spending — Conference Report. The final version (conference report) of this supplemental appropriations bill (H.R. 1591) would provide an additional $124.2 billion for the previous fiscal year (fiscal 2007), over and above previous appropriations.
Although the bill would set a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq, it would also authorize an additional $95.5 billion to carry out military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Additionally, this seemingly catchall bill also would raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour and provide nearly $5 billion in small-business incentives. Even if the spending in this supplemental bill were constitutional, it should have been added to the federal budget in the annual appropriations process.
The Senate passed the final version of H.R. 1591 by a vote of 51-46 (Roll Call 147) on April 26, 2007. We have assigned pluses to the nays for several reasons: it contains an enormous amount of unconstitutional spending, would raise the federal minimum wage, and would authorize money for the Iraq War.
