Iraq Spending Bill Stalls in Senate
By Martin Kady II
The Politico
Friday 16 November 2007
The Senate remains deeply divided over whether to give President Bush all the
money he wants - without limitations - for continuing the war in
Iraq, as two opposing war funding measures failed to pass Friday morning.
Republicans had the first crack at the latest war funding bill, as they offered
$70 billion "bridge fund" that had no limitations in terms of troop
withdrawal or changing the mission in Iraq. The GOP measure failed 53-45, well
short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster in the Senate.
The Democratic bill, which has already passed the House, was backed by a majority
of the Senate, but still fell short of the 60 vote threshold, 53-45. Three Republicans
backed the Democratic bill, which would require troop withdrawals to begin immediately,
but had a soft "target" for a December 2008 completion date for troop
withdrawal.
The two failed Iraq bills means Congress goes home for a two-week Thanksgiving
break with continued gridlock over Iraq funding. The massive farm bill, the
rest of the appropriations bills and a compromise on the alternative minimum
tax also remain stalled heading into December.
Both parties are already using the votes for political gain, with Republicans
contending Democrats are denying the troops critical funding as they run short
on money while Democrats say the troops can have the money as long as President
Bush agrees to their limitations on the funds.
In truth, neither Iraq bill ever had a chance to pass. Democrats have gambled
that over the next few months the Pentagon can find extra money within existing
Defense Department accounts to fund the war.
"He [Bush] refuses to have any acountability for the money spent in Iraq,"
said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Republicans warn that the Pentagon will have to carry out temporary layoffs
or even cancel existing contracts if they have to pull money from non-war accounts
to pay for operations in Iraq.
"Are we about to deny all those supplies just as the successes of Gen.
[David] Petraeus' plan have become clear?" Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), asked in a floor speech. "We should not leave
our forces in the field without the funding that they need to accomplish the
mission for which they have been deployed."
There do seem to be openings for negotiations as both sides bicker.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) may have provided a glimpse into the GOP negotiating
strategy on spending when he said that if the president gets his money for the
war, Republicans may negotiate with Democrats to complete the remaining 11 appropriations
bills. Democrats desperately want to complete the domestic spending bills, and
Republicans want unencumbered money for the war. On Thursday Reid offered to
meet Republicans "halfway" on domestic spending bills by cutting $11
billion from the Democratic proposals.
"Fund the troops without strings attached ... and well then maybe we can
talk about some things," Kyl said.
The next move is up to Democrats, who say they might not bring up any Iraq
funding for the remainder of this year.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who supported the Democratic cloture motion on
Friday morning, criticized both parties for the stalemate over the Iraq funding
bill.
"I think we need to move the issue forward, both on the funding question
and the policy," Snowe said. "What message is this sending to America,
to our soldiers in Iraq? Why can't we get this done? I think it's tragic."
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