House sends bill to boost wartime spending to Senate

The House approved a $124.2 billion supplemental war spending bill Wednesday night on a 218-208 vote, sending it to the Senate for expected passage Thursday.

President Bush is likely to veto the bill, as it contains what he says are unacceptable timelines for withdrawal from Iraq combat zones.

Democrats have sought to put Bush in a bind. The bill would require removing combat troops from Iraq beginning as early as July 1 but no later than Oct. 1 -- with a goal of complete redeployment by April 1, 2008.

After that, a limited number could remain for force protection, to train and equip Iraqi troops and for counterterrorism operations.

But redeployment would occur only if Bush certifies the Iraqi government is meeting diplomatic and security benchmarks the White House has endorsed, leaving him in the position of having to endorse a pullout or admit his Iraq strategy is not working.

"Make no mistake, there will be wide and dangerous consequences if we abandon Iraq," said Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. "We could have an explosion of sectarian violence larger and more barbaric than we have now."

Democrats argued Bush's policy has failed to pacify the country while thousands of U.S. soldiers have been killed or wounded.

"Every day, thousands of Iraqis are fleeing the horror that has become their country," said Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass. "This terrible chapter in our history must come to an end."

The measure also would stipulate units sent to Iraq must be "fully mission capable," have adequate rest at home between tours of duty and ensure tours could not be extended beyond one year.

Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., said troop readiness was at its lowest level since the Korean War, when units were surprised and demoralized by invading North Korean forces. "Our job is to see that that never happens again," Skelton said.

Leaders from both sides of the aisle emerged from a Wednesday briefing by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Edmund Giambastiani and Gen. David Petraeus with their respective messages intact.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Petraeus is telling Iraqi leaders the U.S. public expects them to step up and address their country's problems, as a means of promoting the bill's benchmarks. "This briefing reinforced our belief that there is no military solution in Iraq -- only a political solution," said Hoyer.

"Nothing we heard in there gave us any reason to believe that a political settlement ... is any closer," said Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said he still believed "the right course was a phased withdrawal" of U.S. troops.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, similarly stuck to GOP talking points. "Considering where we are, I think the general feels good about the progress so far," he said. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Congress needs to send Bush a bill as soon as possible "and it needs to be without a surrender date."

The measure contains $21.2 billion in additional spending above Bush's request. But if Congress sends Bush a post-veto package containing some add-ons minus the withdrawal provisions, it might be difficult for him to sustain a veto a second time.

Of the added funds, $12 billion is either for the war, including $4 billion for military operations, or related purposes like veterans' health, foreign aid, homeland security, nuclear nonproliferation, FBI counterterrorism operations and avian flu preparedness.

The remainder is for Gulf Coast hurricane recovery, agriculture disaster aid, children's health insurance, low-income home energy assistance, wildfire suppression and rural county payments. Democrats argue Bush and congressional Republicans underfunded those items during years of one-party rule.

Christian Bourge and Terry Kivlan contributed to this report.