Monday, March 26, 2007
Sen. Harry Reid: End Funds for Iraq War
Ratcheting up pressure on the White House to end the Iraq war, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid joined one of the chamber's biggest anti-war Democrats on Monday in proposing to terminate funding for the conflict within a year.
The Senate has already defied a veto threat by President George W. Bush and joined the House of Representatives in backing a timetable for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq.
But the new legislation unveiled by Wisconsin liberal Democrat Russ Feingold and co-sponsored by Nevada Democrat Reid would go farther and take the controversial step of ending funding for the war by March 31, 2008 - with three exceptions.
The exceptions would allow money to be spent for "targeted" and "limited' operations against al Qaeda; protecting U.S. personnel, and training Iraqi security forces.
It was unclear, however, how much support there would be in the closely divided Senate for such a move. But an aide to Senate Minority Leader and Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell noted that many senators, including some Democrats, had said they would not vote to cut off funding for U.S. troops, even if they were unhappy with the war.
"My guess is most Republicans would welcome such a vote" to draw a clear line on funding, McConnell's aide said.
Reid said he would call for a vote on the Feingold legislation soon if Bush carries out his threat to veto the timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
The goal of getting all combat soldiers out by March 31, 2008, was contained in a "supplemental appropriations" bill providing about $100 billion in war funds and passed last week by the Senate on a mostly 51-47 party-line vote.
"I am pleased to co-sponsor Senator Feingold's important legislation," Reid said in a statement.
"If the President vetoes the supplemental appropriations bill and continues to resist changing course in Iraq, I will work to ensure this legislation receives a vote in the Senate in the next work period."
But before Bush can issue his promised veto of the supplemental war funds bill, the Senate and House must merge their two separate versions into one, a task that is not expected to be completed until at least mid-April.
Without the war-funding bill, the Pentagon will run out of money for the conflict in the coming months, although exactly when this would happen is a matter of dispute between lawmakers and the White House.
Vice President Dick Cheney repeated Bush's veto threat on Monday, saying lawmakers setting deadlines for withdrawal were calling for a U.S. "retreat." The effort was pointless, Cheney said, because lawmakers would not be able to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's veto.
"It's nothing less than an attempt to force the president's hand," Cheney said in prepared remarks at a reception for Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions. "They're going to find out that they've misread George W. Bush," he declared.
Reid's spokesman Jim Manley said the new Feingold legislation was "the next in a series of steps designed to try and force a change in administration policy."
Asked how many senators would support it, Manley conceded "it's an uphill battle ... but each time we've had some of these votes, we've picked up additional support."
Under the Bush administration's new Iraq policy announced earlier this year, the Pentagon has increased force levels in Iraq by about 30,000 troops. The United States has about 145,000 troops in Iraq.
Ratcheting up pressure on the White House to end the Iraq war, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid joined one of the chamber's biggest anti-war Democrats on Monday in proposing to terminate funding for the conflict within a year.
The Senate has already defied a veto threat by President George W. Bush and joined the House of Representatives in backing a timetable for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq.
But the new legislation unveiled by Wisconsin liberal Democrat Russ Feingold and co-sponsored by Nevada Democrat Reid would go farther and take the controversial step of ending funding for the war by March 31, 2008 - with three exceptions.
The exceptions would allow money to be spent for "targeted" and "limited' operations against al Qaeda; protecting U.S. personnel, and training Iraqi security forces.
It was unclear, however, how much support there would be in the closely divided Senate for such a move. But an aide to Senate Minority Leader and Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell noted that many senators, including some Democrats, had said they would not vote to cut off funding for U.S. troops, even if they were unhappy with the war.
"My guess is most Republicans would welcome such a vote" to draw a clear line on funding, McConnell's aide said.
Reid said he would call for a vote on the Feingold legislation soon if Bush carries out his threat to veto the timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
The goal of getting all combat soldiers out by March 31, 2008, was contained in a "supplemental appropriations" bill providing about $100 billion in war funds and passed last week by the Senate on a mostly 51-47 party-line vote.
"I am pleased to co-sponsor Senator Feingold's important legislation," Reid said in a statement.
"If the President vetoes the supplemental appropriations bill and continues to resist changing course in Iraq, I will work to ensure this legislation receives a vote in the Senate in the next work period."
But before Bush can issue his promised veto of the supplemental war funds bill, the Senate and House must merge their two separate versions into one, a task that is not expected to be completed until at least mid-April.
Without the war-funding bill, the Pentagon will run out of money for the conflict in the coming months, although exactly when this would happen is a matter of dispute between lawmakers and the White House.
Vice President Dick Cheney repeated Bush's veto threat on Monday, saying lawmakers setting deadlines for withdrawal were calling for a U.S. "retreat." The effort was pointless, Cheney said, because lawmakers would not be able to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's veto.
"It's nothing less than an attempt to force the president's hand," Cheney said in prepared remarks at a reception for Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions. "They're going to find out that they've misread George W. Bush," he declared.
Reid's spokesman Jim Manley said the new Feingold legislation was "the next in a series of steps designed to try and force a change in administration policy."
Asked how many senators would support it, Manley conceded "it's an uphill battle ... but each time we've had some of these votes, we've picked up additional support."
Under the Bush administration's new Iraq policy announced earlier this year, the Pentagon has increased force levels in Iraq by about 30,000 troops. The United States has about 145,000 troops in Iraq.
