In arguably the most forgettable State of the Union addresses in memory, George W. Bush did manage to propose a few worthwhile ideas about benefits for U.S. troops and their families.
“Our military families also sacrifice for America. They endure sleepless nights and the daily struggle of providing for children while a loved one is serving far from home. We have a responsibility to provide for them. So I ask you to join me in expanding their access to child care, creating new hiring preferences for military spouses across the federal government, and allowing our troops to transfer their unused education benefits to their spouses or children. Our military families serve our nation, they inspire our nation, and tonight our nation honors them.”
Not surprisingly, the remarks were very well received, and would draw little if any opposition once lawmakers took the task of passing a budget.
But therein lies the rub: the president didn’t include funding for his own ideas in his own budget.
President Bush drew great applause during his State of the Union address last month when he called on Congress to allow U.S. troops to transfer their unused education benefits to family members…. A week later, however, when Bush submitted his $3.1 trillion federal budget to Congress, he included no funding for such an initiative, which government analysts calculate could cost $1 billion to $2 billion annually.
Bush’s proposal was added to the speech late in the process, administration officials said, after the president decided that he wanted to announce a program that would favor military families. That left little time to vet the idea, develop formal cost estimates or gauge how many people might take advantage of such a program. Some administration officials said the proposal surprised them, and they voiced concerns about how to fund it.
Can’t anybody here play this game?
The White House worked on the State of the Union for months, Apparently, late in the process, the president decided to throw a bone to U.S. troops. But not only was the decision made too late to make the budget, some administration officials don’t even like the ideas Bush proposed.
Some critics in Congress cite the episode as a case study of what they consider the slapdash way Bush has put together the legislative program for his final year in office.
Ya think? After more than seven years in office, the fact that the Bush gang still hasn’t quite worked out how to unveil an idea in a State of the Union might — just might — be a sign of rank incompetence. Just a thought.
Of course, as it turns out, it’s too late for the Bush administration to balk at the idea the president told the nation he wanted. The White House may not want to take “yes” for an answer, but lawmakers are running with the proposal.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have drawn up legislation that would remove restrictions that currently prevent most troops from transferring education benefits to family members. […]
The idea of allowing more troops to extend education benefits to family members has been percolating on Capitol Hill for some time. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.) has been pushing it for years and introduced a bill after Bush’s surprise endorsement. His measure would drop the restrictions on how many benefits can be transferred and would allow members of the reserves and National Guard to participate.
In the Senate, Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) has introduced similar legislation. In an interview, she said that she hopes the White House will back her plan. “We ought to be able to get it pretty quickly through,” she said. “It was their idea, and they ought to get credit for it.”
The idea has bipartisan support. “It was a very pleasant surprise coming from an administration that has tried to balance its budgets on the backs of military families,” said Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), who is co-sponsoring Bartlett’s bill. “I don’t know where they got the idea, but I am not going to quibble.”
Hopefully, the president will come to the same conclusion.