In a surprise decision, the House of Representatives rejected a health and education spending measure in a close (224-208) vote yesterday. The $142.5 billion plan included $900 million in cuts to healthcare services. Democrats and some Republicans who voted against the bill said they objected to provisions which would have cut funding for the CDC and reduced aid to low income victims of Hurricane Katrina. Some observers see the unwillingness of moderate Republicans to vote with the Bush administration as as sign of their concerns for reelection in 2006. This suggests that domestic issues like healthcare may play a bigger role in the background of the main issue--the Iraq War.
- see this article from The New York Times