What emergency?

It is a sad state of affairs when much-needed funding for our troops in Iraq, communities destroyed by last year's hurricanes and sick and disabled veterans is held hostage by a dispute over billions of dollars in pork-barrel earmarks stuffed into an "emergency" spending bill.

The trouble started in April when the Senate passed a $109 billion version of an emergency supplemental appropriations bill, which was substantially more than the $91.9 billion called for in the bill passed by the House in March. President Bush, who asked for $92.2 billion to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for hurricane relief, threatened to veto any bill that exceeds his request.

A lengthy House-Senate conference was needed to resolve differences between the competing versions of the bill before it went to the White House. The final bill totaled $94.5 billion.

Despite the veto warning, some Senators abused the bill's must-pass status, tacking on $14 billion for pet projects and special favors. Supplemental appropriations bills are exempt from spending caps and other budget controls, so lawmakers often load them up with unrequested, unnecessary funding "earmarks."

Just one amendment to remove $15 million for seafood promotions was adopted, and the Senate bill remained bloated with non-emergency projects. Among the add-ons left in were $38 million to repair historic properties in Mississippi such as Jefferson Davis's home near Biloxi, $700 million to move a railroad line so casinos can be rebuilt, $4 billion in additional farm subsidies which already total $25 billion for the year, $594 million for highways, $500 million in corporate welfare for a defense contractor, $17 million for AmeriCorps and $20 million to help the New England fishing industry recover from a bad harvest.

The Senate's appetite for pork left conferees the daunting task of closing a $17 billion gap between the House and Senate versions. Because of the prolonged negotiations, plans to complete work on a compromise before the Memorial Day recess fell through.

In the end, some $430 million in emergency funds for veterans health care was dropped. That included money to meet the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Squabbling over the Senate earmarks delayed efforts to ensure that sick and disabled veterans who had been cared for at the New Orleans VA medical center will have access to medical care when they're able to return to the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast area.

Also held up was $45 million to rebuild the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Miss., that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Ever since the disaster many of those veterans have been housed at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C.

It is an outrage that Congress continually stuffs "emergency" appropriations legislation with wasteful spending for pork-barrel projects and special favors for influential constituents while so many critical needs go unmet. Lawmakers need to reform the budget and appropriations process to prevent such unconscionable abuses.

Violante, Joseph A. National Legislative Director