The House on Wednesday failed to override the veto of a $124.2 billion supplemental appropriations bill for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that included funds for a number of health care programs, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. The House voted 222-203 to override the veto but fell 62 votes short of the required two-thirds majority (Espo, AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/3). President Bush on Tuesday vetoed the legislation because of opposition to provisions that called for the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq by March 2008 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/2).

Negotiations on New Bill
In a meeting with Bush on Wednesday, Democratic congressional leaders agreed to exclude domestic spending provisions from a new version of the supplemental appropriations bill until they can reach an agreement with the White House on provisions related to the war in Iraq. Bush has opposed the inclusion of the domestic spending provisions in the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said, "I said to the president that it's very clear that the No. 1 issue is Iraq -- don't talk about the other things in this emergency spending bill. Iraq is the issue we must be concerned about."

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said that lawmakers will discuss the domestic spending provisions later in negotiations with the White House (Ferrechio, CQ Today, 5/2). According to CQ Today, "Democrats have said they are ready to fight" for the inclusion of the domestic spending provisions in the bill (Ferrechio/Clark, CQ Today, 5/2). House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that Congress should approve the legislation by Memorial Day (Koffler, CongressDaily, 5/3).