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Politics

Politics tangle up Iraq funding

House Democrats want spending and time limits. A veto is assured.

WASHINGTON - Under pressure to support the troops but end the war, House Democrats said Thursday they would send President Bush $50-billion for combat operations on the condition that he begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.

The proposal, similar to one Bush vetoed earlier this year, would identify a goal of ending combat entirely by December 2008. It would require that troops spend as much time at home as they do in combat, as well as effectively ban harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Bush would veto any bill that sets an "artificial time line" for troop withdrawals.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had hoped the House would vote as early as today on the bill. But late Thursday, after meeting with liberal Democrats who were concerned the bill was too soft, she decided to put off debate until next week.

In a private caucus meeting, Pelosi told rank-and-file Democrats that the bill was their best shot at challenging Bush on the war. And if Bush rejected it, she said, she did not intend on sending him another war spending bill for the rest of the year.

"This is not a blank check for the president," she said later at a Capitol Hill news conference. "This is providing funding for the troops limited to a particular purpose, for a short time frame."

Democrats are in a tight spot. Since taking control of Congress in January, catapulted to power by voters frustrated by the war, they remain unable to pass veto-proof legislation demanding troops leave Iraq.

Without another spending bill for the war, the Defense Department would have to drain its less urgent accounts to keep the war afloat.

The $50-billion included in the bill represents about a quarter of the $196-billion requested by Bush. It would finance about four months of combat, Pelosi said.

House Republican Leader John Boehner called the idea "backward and irresponsible" in light of military progress being made in Iraq.

"Our troops need all of the resources Congress can provide to seize upon the tactical momentum they've achieved and eliminate al-Qaida from Iraq's communities once and for all," said Boehner, R-Ohio.

On Thursday, the House approved $460-billion in annual military spending and $11.6-billion for bomb-resistant vehicles for the war, as well as a stopgap funding measure to keep the rest of the government running through mid December. The spending package omits money for combat operations.

[Last modified November 9, 2007, 02:13:53]