News / Politics
U.S. Senate Rejects Democratic Bid to Cut Off Money for Military Campaigns
For all the talk of a united Democratic Party, Wednesday marked another example of just how fractured the party stands when it comes to the issue of cutting funds for military troops in Iraq.
The measure had called for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008 and would have limited funding to directly fighting terrorists in Iraq, the training of Iraqi troops and the protection of U.S. forces.
With 19 Democrats turning their back on the bid the measure was soundly defeated 67-29 despite the best efforts of Senators Russell Feingold, D-Wis, and Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Before the vote Feingold implored his fellow senators “Congress cannot wait for the president to change course, we must change the course ourselves.”
While Reid insisted “ the president has repeatedly made it clear that nothing — not the wishes of the American people, not the advice of military and foreign policy experts, not the concerns of the members of both parties — will discourage him from pursuing a war that has no end in sight.”
Among the Democrats that opposed the Feingold-Reid backed proposal was chairman of the Armed Service Committee, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich, who stated “We don't want to send the message to the troops that Congress does not support them, we're going to support those troops.”
Levin had proposed an October 1 date to begin withdrawal of troops but would allow Pres. George W. Bush to waive the withdrawal. Levin pulled that proposal from the floor after learning that Bush would have vetoed the measure.
