Security Funds on Track; U.S. Senate Keeps Denver Money for DNC in Bill
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer
Rocky Mountain News
March 29, 2007
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday defeated an attempt to delay $100 million in security funds proposed for Denver and Minneapolis- St. Paul for the 2008 Democratic and Republican national conventions.
By a 51-45 vote, senators rejected an amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., that would have prevented the convention money from being included in an emergency supplemental appropriations bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for other projects.
Coburn said that convention planning was not an emergency and that including money for it appeared to be an attempt to get around spending limits in the normal budget processes.
But Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Denver, joined by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., argued that the funding was needed because of the threat of terrorism and the need to keep convention planning moving forward.
"I want it in the emergency supplemental because the national convention is a natural target for those who want to do our nation harm," Salazar said.
The vote means that the convention funds remain in the overall $122 billion supplemental spending plan, which President Bush has threatened to veto because it also includes a nonbinding timeline for removing most U.S. troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008.
Coburn has tried to block non-war spending from the package, saying it could saddle future generations with a bigger national debt.
"We're going to have a party on our unborn," Coburn said of the convention funds.
The $100 million - $50 million apiece for Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul - is meant to reimburse state and local agencies for the cost of providing convention security.
