Washington, D.C.  – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to reach the necessary votes required to override President Bush’s veto of the Emergency Supplemental Spending Bill.  U.S. Representative Charles W. Boustany, Jr., R-Lafayette, who voted to sustain the veto, issued the following statement:

“Yesterday, President Bush vetoed a bill that, in my opinion, should never have seen the light of day.  By setting arbitrary withdrawal dates in Iraq and undermining the ability of our troops to complete their mission, congressional leaders sacrificed many important provisions included for Louisiana’s recovery.  Now, nearly 86 days after Congress received an emergency supplemental request, we are back to the drawing board.  

“There is far too much at stake to continue partisan attacks that do nothing to fund our men and women in uniform or our recovery along the Gulf Coast.  It is time for all of us in Congress, Democrat and Republican, to focus on what we can all agree on – holding the Iraqi government accountable for security and progress in their own country.  

“By setting benchmarks for the Iraqi government, I am hopeful that we can craft a bipartisan compromise that provides our troops in the field with the equipment they need to complete their mission, and is worthy of the efforts of Louisianans who continue to recover from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.”