Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
May 11, 2007
Pg. 13
By Kathy Kiely and David Jackson, USA Today
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders and representatives of the White House are putting off tough decisions on the Iraq war until a handful of House and Senate negotiators work out details of a funding bill they'll try to send to President Bush by Memorial Day.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has been meeting with White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., about a funding compromise.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday that only "token meetings" have been held to resolve differences over Iraq.
"There's been no honest attempt to work together," he said.
The president vowed to veto a short-term funding bill that the House of Representatives approved Thursday by a 221-205 vote.
Only two Republicans, Reps. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., and Walter Jones, R-N.C., broke party lines to support the Democratic-sponsored funding bill.
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the administration hasn't offered a single concession, so House leaders were left with no choice but to proceed "or sit here like a bunch of potted palms waiting for a miracle."
Bush vetoed a $124 billion funding bill this month because it specified a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. He opposes the new House measure because it would guarantee funding only through part of the summer, giving Congress an opening to renew its push for a redeployment of troops.
"Let's make sure our troops get funded, and let's make sure politicians don't tell our commanders how to conduct operations. Let's don't hamstring our people in the field," the president said.
Bush said he is willing to consider a bill that includes certain "benchmarks," goals the Iraqi government would have to meet in order to retain U.S. support.
Critics of Bush's war policy argued that staying in Iraq will only prolong sectarian infighting between Shiites and Sunnis. "There is no nice easy way to leave Iraq. Every member in this chamber understands that. But it is the right thing to do," said Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass. "Until we leave, no one has to make the hard choices about how Iraqis are going to live together or die together."
There is not a majority in Congress to end the war. By a vote of 255-171, the House defeated a measure Thursday that would have ordered an immediate redeployment of the troops.
In the Senate, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., joined Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, to introduce a bipartisan funding proposal Thursday. It would make U.S. military presence in Iraq contingent upon the Iraqi government meeting a series of political goals designed to end sectarian infighting.
Snowe said many of her Republican colleagues are "deeply frustrated" by the performance of the Iraqis.
Vice President Cheney expressed skepticism about penalizing the Iraqi government in an interview on Fox News.
"You've got to remember the consequences that the Iraqis have been faced with," he said. "I mean, in terms of casualties, they've suffered far more than we have."
Bush, speaking with reporters earlier, said he has asked Bolten to "find common ground on benchmarks" in talks with congressional leaders.
A House-Senate conference committee will draft the final version of the funding bill.
Bush said he hopes the conference committee "can move a good bill forward as quickly as possible." Without a fresh infusion of cash, funding for military operations will run out in June, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.
The bill will be the fifth emergency supplemental funding measure since the war began.
May 11, 2007
Pg. 13
By Kathy Kiely and David Jackson, USA Today
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders and representatives of the White House are putting off tough decisions on the Iraq war until a handful of House and Senate negotiators work out details of a funding bill they'll try to send to President Bush by Memorial Day.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has been meeting with White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., about a funding compromise.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday that only "token meetings" have been held to resolve differences over Iraq.
"There's been no honest attempt to work together," he said.
The president vowed to veto a short-term funding bill that the House of Representatives approved Thursday by a 221-205 vote.
Only two Republicans, Reps. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., and Walter Jones, R-N.C., broke party lines to support the Democratic-sponsored funding bill.
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the administration hasn't offered a single concession, so House leaders were left with no choice but to proceed "or sit here like a bunch of potted palms waiting for a miracle."
Bush vetoed a $124 billion funding bill this month because it specified a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. He opposes the new House measure because it would guarantee funding only through part of the summer, giving Congress an opening to renew its push for a redeployment of troops.
"Let's make sure our troops get funded, and let's make sure politicians don't tell our commanders how to conduct operations. Let's don't hamstring our people in the field," the president said.
Bush said he is willing to consider a bill that includes certain "benchmarks," goals the Iraqi government would have to meet in order to retain U.S. support.
Critics of Bush's war policy argued that staying in Iraq will only prolong sectarian infighting between Shiites and Sunnis. "There is no nice easy way to leave Iraq. Every member in this chamber understands that. But it is the right thing to do," said Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass. "Until we leave, no one has to make the hard choices about how Iraqis are going to live together or die together."
There is not a majority in Congress to end the war. By a vote of 255-171, the House defeated a measure Thursday that would have ordered an immediate redeployment of the troops.
In the Senate, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., joined Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, to introduce a bipartisan funding proposal Thursday. It would make U.S. military presence in Iraq contingent upon the Iraqi government meeting a series of political goals designed to end sectarian infighting.
Snowe said many of her Republican colleagues are "deeply frustrated" by the performance of the Iraqis.
Vice President Cheney expressed skepticism about penalizing the Iraqi government in an interview on Fox News.
"You've got to remember the consequences that the Iraqis have been faced with," he said. "I mean, in terms of casualties, they've suffered far more than we have."
Bush, speaking with reporters earlier, said he has asked Bolten to "find common ground on benchmarks" in talks with congressional leaders.
A House-Senate conference committee will draft the final version of the funding bill.
Bush said he hopes the conference committee "can move a good bill forward as quickly as possible." Without a fresh infusion of cash, funding for military operations will run out in June, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.
The bill will be the fifth emergency supplemental funding measure since the war began.