Blue Dog Democrats Push House to Pay for GI Bill Expansion

June 5, 2008

House leaders postponed action on the fiscal 2008 war supplemental until next week, as members of the Blue Dog Coalition pushed them to try to force the Senate to consider offsets for the cost of expanding veterans’ education benefits.

The group of 49 fiscally conservative Democrats yesterday asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to return to the Senate a bill that pays for the GI benefit expansion. Blue Dogs have said repeatedly that they support helping veterans more with their education; they just want the cost of this expansion of benefits offset. The benefit would cost $52 billion in a 10-year period. Last month, the Senate dismissed a House plan to offset the benefit with a surtax on the wealthy. Senate leaders said the benefit should be considered a cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is considered “emergency” spending and thus not offset. Senate leaders further argued they did not have the votes for such a proposal.

The Blue Dogs are hinting they may vote against a rule to bring the war supplemental to the floor.  Republicans have been chiding Blue Dogs recently for allowing Democratic leaders to at times put aside their commitment to pay for new mandatory spending or tax cuts, and some in the Blue Dog Coalition feel they have to make a stand soon.  House leaders were mulling how to respond to the Blue Dogs. Democratic leaders believe enough Republicans would support a plan that keeps funding close to the levels requested by the president, with the GI benefit as the only major addition. That means if Blue Dogs really want to stand up to leaders, their only real option is to oppose the floor rule.

Hoyer acknowledged yesterday that Democrats may drop the extension of unemployment insurance that was included in both House and Senate versions of the bill passed before the Memorial Day recess. President Bush opposes the extension and Democrats don’t want to give him a reason to veto the bill.