Yesterday evening, the House voted 276-140 to pass the $607 billion ($151.4 billion discretionary ) Labor-HHS-Education spending bill. The president expressed his dismay at raising the level of funding above 2005 levels for the following programs when he issued a veto threat on Tuesday:

• financial aid for college students
• the president's own No Child Left Behind education initiative
• medical research
• low-income heating assistance
• funding for children with disabilities
• health education
• monitoring the health of the emergency responders who were exposed to toxic debris when the World Trade Center collapsed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks

For more about what's in the bill, see this post from the new blog by the National Women's Law Center -- or this piece on OpenCongress.org. The view from the balcony: