A heavy-laden war bill

No matter how you look at it, Democrats in Congress blinked first in their showdown with the president over war funding. The bill that passed both houses this week includes no time line for the withdrawal of troops. Even key Democrats, such as Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., acknowledged that money to continue the war would have run out on Monday. Faced with the real possibility that they would be blamed for U.S. soldiers being shortchanged, they capitulated.

But while the president may have won the battle over war funding, the lesser-known story is about all the other little controversial measures that also found their way into the bill — measures that have nothing to do with the war.

For instance, a subsidy for Midwestern dairy farmers, granting small farms a combined $1.2 billion to guard against declines in the price of milk, passed along with the bill. This provision has been opposed by Western dairy farmers, who tend to have operations too large to qualify for the subsidy. It also violates new congressional rules that say all farm-program spending increases should be offset by cuts elsewhere.

The bill also allows large U.S. air carriers, such as American and Continental, to reduce their pension plans by nearly $2 billion over 10 years. The Associated Press reported that this subsidy initially was opposed by the White House, but those objections were dropped. That's what happens when something much larger, such as war funding, is at stake.

In addition, the bill includes $425 million to extend a federal program that helps rural counties in the Northwest that were harmed by lower than expected revenues from timber harvesting on federal land.

And, of course, the bill raises the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour.

Both political parties have learned that the quickest way to pass one controversial measure is to make it a tiny part of a much larger measure that comes with high political stakes.

The war-funding portion of the bill is a good thing. Congress has no business tying the hands of the nation's commander in chief during a time of war. The bill's requirements for Iraqis to meet certain benchmarks will not impede coalition forces.

But Americans should never expect an end to wasteful federal spending until lawmakers are called to account for the semi-hidden tricks they use to reward their pet causes.