Tim Johnson: Protecting America From Too Many Trees, School Kids, And Sick People

Here is Tim Johnson's press release on the passage of "the $165 billion supplemental appropriations bill to provide for our nation's service members and fund ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan."  Included in this supplemental are:

Included in the bill is $400 million for the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.The funding compensates local school districts for decreased revenue as a result of reduced timber production on public forest lands. Six counties in western South Dakota are receiving payments through the program, including Pennington, Custer, Lawrence, Meade, Fall River, and Harding.

 

The supplemental also contains a delay of several Medicaid rules proposed by the Bush administration.  If allowed to take effect, these rules would substantially reduce federal Medicaid funding to South Dakota. Senator Johnson has worked on several fronts to delay these rules and is pleased a delay is included in this legislation.  If enacted, this rule would cost South Dakota more than $7.4 million annually.

Can Sen. Johnson explain how supplementing school budgets for lost timber revenue and increasing Medicaid funding are related to providing "for our nation's service members" and "ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan"?  He can't of course, because what he is really doing is buying our votes with our own money.  He also has cagily slipped these nuggets into a bill on defense spending because otherwise the president would probably not approve them.  Between legislation like this and the Farm Bill, we are really seeing politics as usual over the last week.