10 December 2007
Democrats said they would not send Bush any more war money this year unless he accepted a change in Iraq policy. It looks like that it will not happen again. Congressional leaders are trying to resolve an Iraq war budget. Bush is holding fast about not signing a bill that includes a timetable for troop withdrawal that has been a months-long dispute. A new package is being considered to avoid a shutdown of federal agencies. The House is being asked to consider $30 million for military operations in Afghanistan and money for military bases and support programs for military families. The Senate would add up to $40 billion for Iraq combat operations. When the bill comes to the House for a vote, Democrats against the war probably will not vote for it but will not able to stop it’s passage. A bill without a goal for withdrawal will be another major concession by Democrats.
The Democrats appear to be dropping their demand for a withdrawal timeline in exchange for added spending at home. According to senior aides, the Iraq money would be voted on separately, which would allow lawmakers opposed to the war to add money for health care, education, home heating programs, border enforcement and other initiatives. The pending bill with more stringent conditions, would give the president $70 billion out of a pending request of $200 billion for the war. Details were constantly changing as House committee leaders assembled the bill; they also said there was no certainty that the entire package would not collapse.
No matter what bill is finalized, the Democrats are caving in to Bush’s refusal to put a withdrawal timetable into the war funding budget. The spending bills were due on Oct.1, the start of the fiscal year, and as in previous years, Democrats and Republicans have struggled to complete them.
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