Powerless in
their effort to bring troops home from Iraq, Senate
Democrats were on track Monday to help pass a defense policy
bill that would authorize another $150 billion for the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The vote comes as the
House planned to approve separate legislation Tuesday
requiring that President Bush give Congress a plan for
eventual troop withdrawals.
The developments
underscored the difficulty facing Democrats in the Iraq
debate: They lack the votes to pass legislation ordering
troops home and are divided on whether to cut money
for combat, despite a mandate by supporters to end the
war.
Hoping the
political landscape changes in coming months, Democratic
leaders say they will renew their fight when Congress
considers the money Bush wants to pay for the war for
another year.
While the policy
bill the Senate was set to approve Monday authorizes the
money to be spent, it does not guarantee it; Bush will have
to wait until Congress passes a separate
appropriations bill before the money is transferred to
military coffers.
''I think that's
where you're going to see the next dogfight,'' said
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada about the
upcoming war spending bill.
Democrats say
their options include directing that the money be spent on
bringing troops home instead of combat, setting a date when
money for the war is cut off, or identifying a goal to
end the war to try to pressure Bush to bring troops
home.
Similar attempts
have been made but fallen short of the 60 votes needed
to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate.
''Many of us have
reached a breaking point on this,'' said Senate
Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois. ''I've done this
for too many years. I've waited for the president to
start bringing this war to an end. I'm not going to
sign up for this any longer.''
In the House,
Democrats are pushing for a bill that would require the
administration to report to Congress in 60 days and every 90
days thereafter on the status of its redeployment
plans in Iraq.
The bill,
sponsored by Democrats John Tanner of Tennessee and Neil
Abercrombie of Hawaii, was initially cast aside as too mild
by Democratic leaders focused on tougher proposals
ordering troops home this fall.
But after
Democrats were unable to peel off Republican support, the
Iraq debate stalled and some four dozen rank-and-file
Democrats demanded a vote on the Abercrombie-Tanner
bill.
''This will be
the first time since the war in Iraq began that we are
working together as a Congress instead of one party or
another to be a constructive voice in the civilian
management of operations in Iraq,'' Tanner said in a
statement e-mailed to the Associated Press.
In February, Bush
requested more than $140 billion for the war, and is
expected to ask for another $42 billion to cover costs in
the 2008 budget year, which began Monday. The Senate's
defense policy bill authorizes Bush's initial request,
plus an additional $23 billion for the purchase of
bomb-resistant vehicles.
In addition to
war money, the bill would authorize more than a half
trillion dollars in annual military programs, including such
big-ticket items as $10.1 billion for missile defense.
Republicans
predict the bill is on track to be vetoed by President Bush
because it includes hate-crimes legislation by Sen. Edward
Kennedy, D-Mass. The White House said it sees
Kennedy's proposal, which would let federal law
enforcement help states prosecute attacks on gays, as
unnecessary.
The House passed
its version of the defense authorization bill in May by
a 397-27 vote. That $646 billion measure would trim hundreds
of millions of dollars from some weapons modernization
programs and use the money instead to aid troops in
combat.
The House bill
has drawn a veto threat from the White House because of
provisions insisting the military rely heavily on
American-made products and proposed changes to the
Pentagon's personnel policies. (Anne Flaherty, AP)