In what can only be described as a surprising turn of events, and in a lesson that would make any grade school civics teacher proud, President Bush is expected to use a pocket veto to kill the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. That bill includes an expansion of FMLA leave rights for the families of wounded service members. A couple of weeks ago, I reported that the President would be hard pressed to veto a bill that authorized $696 billion in military programs. Now, as the
New York Times is reporting, the White House has stated that the President will veto the bill. At issue is one specific section over which the Iraqi government is concerned that Iraqi assets in American banks could be vulnerable to claims from victims of Saddam Hussein.
Given the overwhelming majority this bill passed both the House and Senate, one could assume that these issues will be resolved after Congress resumes in the new year. I'm done making predictions about this legislation, however, after my last prediction turned out to be wrong. All I can is to watch this space for further updates about this potential expansion of FMLA rights.
Hat tip to the Connecticut Employment Law Blog.
