The New York Times is reporting this afternoon that President Bush is now expected to veto the National Defense Authorization Act. That Act contained expanded FMLA benefits for military families, as I explained in an earlier post. 

For the time being, this veto (assuming no Congressional override) would halt the passage of the expanded FMLA provision.  However, since this bill passed by overwhelming majorities in both the House and the Senate, I’d expect this situation to resolve itself fairly quickly.   

Indeed, according to the article, the President objects to the portion of the bill regarding possible lawsuits against the nation of Iraq and will work with Congress to fix this "as soon as possible upon Congress’s return in January." 

As this veto appeared to catch Congressional leaders off-guard, it’s fair to say that this situation is fluid.