Sen. McConnell: War-funding bill will include timelines for Iraqi gov't, not US

Sen. McConnell: War-funding bill will include timelines for Iraqi gov't, not US troops

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says there's a "bipartisan feeling" in the Senate that the supplemental troop-funding bill for the war in Iraq needs to pass by Memorial Day.

Senator McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) have been in discussions with White House chief of staff Josh Bolton on how to resolve differences over what should be included in the troop-funding bill. President Bush vetoed the measure that recently crossed his desk because it included billions of dollars in non-defense spending and set deadlines for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

McConnell says a compromise measure will likely include benchmarks requiring the Iraqi government to pass an oil law and conduct local elections, but they should not be tied to troop funding or levels.

"I don't think we ought to start micro-managing troop levels. That's, I think, uniquely within the province of the president and the generals in the war," says the Kentucky lawmaker, who then acknowledged that there is bipartisan dissatisfaction with the Iraqi government. "I think that is a place to concentrate as we consider what additional language we might put in the troop-funding bill," he recommends.

McConnell recommends the Senate pass the entire supplemental appropriations bill and "not chop it up into bits."

"The most important issue right now is to deal with getting the funding for the troops by the passage of the supplemental appropriation bill in a form that the president can sign," says the Kentucky Republican. "We will have other opportunities for additional Iraq debates, the defense authorization bill will be along in a month or so, [and] the defense appropriation bill will be along."

Setting aside money for a vote next summer on troop funding, he believes, is "a uniquely bad idea." McConnell notes the current war funding bill being worked on would only run through September 30, 2007.

McConnell says he shares the view of House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) that the U.S. troop surge in Baghdad will be measurable by the end of the summer -- and rejects a call by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) for Congress to de-authorize the Iraq War.