What does a bill that pays for military operations in Afghanistan have to do with unions and first responders?  How about money to help prevent teacher layoffs?  Earthquake relief for Haiti?  The U.S. Senate is finding out right now.

Emergency Supplemental spending bills (as they are called on Capitol Hill) are often magnets for all kinds of items that aren't exactly related to the stated purpose.  

And because they have the word "emergency" attached to them, they aren't paid for by the Congress, as the money is just added to the federal debt.

Unfortunately, that's nothing new for either party.

As for this year's War Supplemental, it wasn't noticed by many people, but when Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) brought up the bill on Monday, the very first amendment offered by Reid was a plan to provide collective bargaining rights for all public safety officers employed by state and local governments.

Backers argue the plan would provide basic labor protections for state and local public safety workers.

Critics say it's nothing but an effort to give unions more power over government workers.

Should it be part of the Afghan war supplemental?  Well, it is the Senate, so almost anything goes, and that's clear by what's in the amendment pipeline.

On the GOP side, there are plans to add $2 billion to boost security along the border with Mexico, by sending 6,000 National Guard troops.  That was unveiled as word leaked that the White House would ask for $500 million to fund 1,200 troops instead.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said on the Senate floor of the Obama plan, "that simply isn't enough."

Democrats also had ideas on how to add extra money to the Afghan war bill, like $23 billion to help school districts around the country keep teachers from being laid off.

But Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) gave up on that yesterday, unable to attract any Republican support.

There is already a lot of money in this bill that does not have anything to do with Afghanistan, like money for Haitian earthquake relief, $5 billion in disaster aid for FEMA, $950 million for an Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund, $6 billion for extra State Department operations and even $219.8 million to cancel some debts owed by Haiti to the United States.

The Senate Afghan War bill totals almost $60 billion right now.  The price tag in the House is already up to $84 billion.

Do I hear $100 billion?

McCain and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) will offer several amendments to pay for certain portions of this bill, ending the standard operating procedure in Congress of declaring it an "emergency".

"Designating war spending as an unforseen emergency year after year is a farce that is designed to help politicians avoid hard budget choices," said Coburn.

Depending on what programs they look at cutting, it could provide some interesting votes on the Senate floor.  But don't bet much money on them suceeding.

As I had expected, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed cloture on the Afghan funding bill last night.  That means the Senate will vote on Thursday on whether to cut off debate.