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House OKs Iraq war funds, Senate up next 
Democratic presidential contenders face critical votes – no withdrawal timeline

Bowing to President Bush, the Democratic-controlled House reluctantly approved fresh billions for the Iraq war on Thursday, minus the troop withdrawal timeline that drew his earlier veto.

The 280-142 vote sent the bill to the Senate for final passage, expected later Thursday night.

Five months in power on Capitol Hill, Democrats coupled their concession to the president with pledges to challenge his policies anew. “This debate will go on,” vowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, announcing plans to hold votes by fall on four separate measures seeking a change in course.

From the White House to the Capitol, the day’s events closed out one chapter in an epic, wartime struggle pitting Congress against commander-in-chief over the future of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,400 U.S. troops.

House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio choked back tears as he stirred memories of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “After 3,000 of our fellow citizens died at the hands of these terrorists, when are we going to take them on? When are we going to defeat them?” he asked.

In a highly unusual maneuver, House Democratic leaders crafted a procedure that allowed their rank and file to oppose money for the war then step aside so Republicans could provide the bulk of votes needed to send it to the Senate for final approval.

Moments earlier, the House voted 348-73 to include a separate package of domestic spending.

After months of struggle with the White House, Democrats emphasized their reluctance to allow the war to continue.

“I hate this agreement,” added Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who played a key role in talks with the White House that yielded the measure.

Total war bill has surpassed $500 billion
Democrats and the White House have engaged in fierce debate since January, kicked off by Bush’s request for $100 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to pay for the 30,000 extra troops he is sending to the war zone.

Final passage of the measure would bring total Iraq and Afghan war spending to more than $500 billion since late 2001.

Lawmakers were racing against a deadline this week to give Bush the money, just before a congressional recess and as combat money was running out.

Bush vetoed an earlier version setting an October 1 deadline for starting a troop withdrawal from Iraq and Democrats figured they could not hold up the war funds any longer with a protracted fight with the president.

Despite their majority in both chambers of Congress after November’s election, Democrats have not been able to muster a two-thirds vote needed to overturn a presidential veto.

Democrats also gave up for now on their plan requiring Bush to certify U.S. troops sent to combat are adequately trained, rested and equipped, as Pentagon rules require. That provision could have put serious constraints on the military.

Instead, the new war funding bill will require only that Bush certify the Iraqi government’s progress in stabilizing the country. The penalty for failure would be denying around $1.6 billion in reconstruction aid to Iraq, but even that could be waived by Bush.

No withdrawal timetable
The bill funds the war through September as Bush wanted and does not set a date for troop withdrawals. In exchange for dropping restrictions on the military, Bush agreed to some $17 billion in spending added by Democrats to fund domestic and military-related projects.

"By voting for this bill, members of both parties can show our troops and the Iraqis and the enemy that our country will support our service men and women in harm's way," Bush said in a Rose Garden news conference.

The bill includes the nearly $100 billion that President Bush requested for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as billions in domestic spending, including $6.4 billion in hurricane relief and $3 billion in agricultural assistance.