House passes supplemental war spending bill

The House Thursday approved a $96.7 billion supplemental spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other needs, setting the stage for conference negotiations with the Senate, which will take up its $91.3 billion version of the bill next week.

The House passed the bill 368-60, with 168 Republicans voting in favor of it. The bloc of Republicans favoring the bill offset the 51 anti-war Democrats who opposed it.

Action in the House came as the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday approved its version of the bill, 30-0. The full Senate is expected to take up the measure Tuesday, with House and Senate Democratic leaders aiming to finish a conference before the Memorial Day recess.

In House debate, Republicans sparred with Democrats over language included in the rule for the bill -- approved by the House earlier Thursday -- meant to ease lawmakers' concerns over what to do with terrorist suspects in the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility.

The language includes a provision barring the Defense Department from transferring any funds to pay to move detainees to U.S. soil. The language prohibits the transfer of any detainees to the United States until two months after the president submits a detailed plan for each detainee and 30 days after he assures the governor and legislature of the state receiving the detainee that the move does not pose a national security risk.

In addition, the language prohibits the transfer or release of a detainee to any other country unless the president explains to Congress the terms of the agreement and provides information on any potential security risk.

Inclusion of the language came after House Appropriations Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., decided not to provide funding to close the facility until President Obama puts forth a detainee relocation plan, a move Republicans applauded. Obama has said he wants to close the detention center early next year and requested $80 million in the supplemental to do so.

"Chairman Obey's decision to withhold funding from Guantanamo is the clearest indication to date that the administration still has no plausible plan to deal with this complex national security issue," Appropriations ranking member Jerry Lewis said, adding, "The president owes it to the American people and this Congress to provide a detailed plan for the relocation of the detainees prior to any funds."

However, Lewis was critical of the Guantanamo language in the rule, which he said is designed for the majority "to cover itself politically on a highly sensitive national security issue." He added that the legislation does nothing to prevent the transfer of detainees to the United States after Oct. 1, when the next fiscal year begins.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said "This [bill] does not provide for the release of anybody from Guantanamo. The president has said that we need a plan on Guantanamo and is pursuing that. This language provides for that planning process to go forward."

While the House bill did not include any Guantanamo funding, the Senate Appropriations Committee included all $80 million sought by Obama. The bill only allows access to $50 million of that amount for the Defense Department until after Obama provides a detainee plan. It allows immediate access to $30 million provided for the Justice Department. The Senate measure also included $5 billion to help boost the International Monetary Fund's lending capacity.

The provision was not included in the House supplemental and poses a problem for House Democratic leaders because Republicans intend to withhold their support for the measure if the IMF funding is included.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said "Republicans support the underlying bill, and I think it deserves support from members on both sides of the aisle. But let's be very clear. We will be watching very closely in the weeks to come as some may try to load up this bill with unrelated spending or language that would undermine our troops. That includes potential money for the International Monetary Fund. That should be debated on its own merits, not as part of a troop-funding bill."

The House bill includes a provision requiring the president to submit a report next year assessing whether the Afghanistan and Pakistan governments are demonstrating the necessary commitment, capability, conduct and unity of purpose to warrant the continuation of the White House's Afghanistan build-up policy announced in March. The Senate measure does not include a comparable provision.

The report includes "very clear measurements against which we should be able to judge the performance of the Afghanistan and Pakistan governments. I believe that if this policy fails, it will not fail because of any lack of imagination or effort on the part of this administration. If it fails, in my judgment, it will fail because of failure of the two governments in the region to do what's necessary to save their own countries," Obey said, adding, "I think we have a responsibility to give a new president, who did not get us into this mess, the best possible opportunity to get us out of it. That's what this bill attempts to do."

There will likely be a conference fight with the Senate over the billions in military equipment added to the House bill, including $2.2 billion for eight C-17 cargo planes and $904 million for 11 C-130 transport aircraft. The Senate bill does not fund either aircraft.

The C-17s, Boeing Co.-built planes that are nearing the end of their production life, have widespread congressional support, with thousands of jobs in the program at stake in more than 40 states. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates has argued that the Air Force does not need more than the 205 C-17s now planned.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye said this week he wanted to keep the supplemental clean of equipment add-ons, but he acknowledged he would like to add money for the C-17s in the upcoming fiscal 2010 budget.

During the Senate Appropriations Committee's markup of the supplemental Wednesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she is "hopeful" Congress will keep the program going this year.

"The senator has good reason to be optimistic," Inouye said. He added that he is "committed to finding a responsible way" to maintain the program.