WASHINGTON, May 9, 2007
White House Vows Another Iraq Veto
Spokesman Says Bush Would Veto Democrats' Proposal To Fund War Only Into Summer
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President Bush would veto a Democratic bill that would fund the Iraq war only into the summer, a spokesman said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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White House press secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday that the Democrats' latest version of the measure is unacceptable.
The Democrats' proposal would pay for the war through July, then give Congress the option of cutting off money after that if conditions do not improve. Mr. Bush requested more than $90 billion to fund the war through September.
"There are restrictions on funding and there are also some of the spending items that were mentioned in the first veto message that are still in the bill," Snow said on Air Force One traveling with Mr. Bush.
Asked directly if Mr. Bush would veto the House bill in its current form, Snow said, "Yes."
The veto threat came as Defense Secretary Robert Gates held out hope that troops could begin withdrawing if the Iraqi government makes progress by fall.
Gates told a Senate committee that if violence in Iraq declines enough to allow the government to move forward, including steps toward political reconciliation, the U.S. could begin pulling troops out.
The Pentagon, said Gates, is "looking for the direction of events — we don't have to have it all locked in place and everything complete ... If (we) see some very positive progress and it looks like things are heading in the right direction, then that's the point at which I think we can begin to consider reducing some of those forces."
He added that "getting the level of violence in Iraq to point where the political process can go forward and seeing some progress in reconciliation sets the stage for us to begin withdrawing our units ... and allowing those security responsibilities to be assumed by the Iraqis."
Senators pressed Gates on reports that commanders in Iraq may want to wait until next April to make an assessment of the buildup. But Gates insisted that the evaluation will be in September, although he added that he didn't know what the result would be.
"What are the prospects for having some light at the end of the tunnel, to see some encouragement which would enable the Congress to have the fortitude to support the president and go beyond September and the full funding of the $500 billion?" asked Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
Gates replied, "I think that the honest answer is, Senator, that I don't know."
Gates also told the panel that proposals for a short-term funding bill would be very disruptive and "have a huge impact" on contracts to repair and replace equipment. The Defense Department, he said, just doesn't "have the agility to manage a two month appropriation."
"I essentially have 10,000 faucets all running money," Gates said. "Turning them on and off with precision and on a day-to-day basis, or even a month-to-month basis, gets very difficult." And, he said that if Congress votes again in July, but rejects the funding bill, "I would have to shut down significant elements of the Department of Defense in August and September because I wouldn't have the money to pay salaries."
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said White House chief of staff Josh Bolten had "another good meeting" with Senate leaders on the matter.
"We remain hopeful we can achieve a deal, and the president's chief of staff remains open to meeting with anyone, anytime, anywhere to bring closure to this process," she said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., emerged from the closed-door meeting to say no deal was struck.
Bolten's meeting Wednesday with Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., lasted about an hour, and revealed a slightly different tone and approach in the Senate than in the House, said a senior administration official who was in the session and spoke on condition of anonymity to speak more freely about private discussions.
The talk was mostly about the process of getting a bill through both chambers and to the president, but there also were some substantive discussions about content that the official would not detail. The White House's view is that Democrats in the Senate and House need to better coordinate where they want to go with a bill, but this is not preventing Bolten from talking about specifics in the meantime, the official said.
Mr. Bush vetoed an earlier bill because it set deadlines for U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq.
The short-term funding bill is backed by House Democrats, but is unlikely to survive the Senate, where Democrats hold a slimmer majority and several of them do not support funding the war in brief installments.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 199 Commentsto the U.N.SEC.GERNERAL
As A American CURRENTY SERVING IN YOUR ARMED SERVICES ONLY ABOUT 135000
OF
US WOULD LIKE TO ASK OUR COMMANDER AND CHIEF AND OUR PRESIDENT TO PLEASE
STOP MURDERING US, PLEASE SIR STOP MURDERING YOUR OWN TROOPS AND
AMERICANS,PLEASE STOP..
LISTEN TO ME: AS COMMANDER AND CHIEF I ORDER YOU TO STOP YOUR CRYING AND
GET
BACK TO FIGHTING,AND IF YOU DONT FIGHT, THAN I WILL COURT MARSHALL YOU.
SO
GET BACK IN THERE AND DIE FOR ME AND CHENEY,ROVE,RICE,RUMSFELD..WE
HAVEN'T
MADE ENOUGH MONEY YET.
EXTRA EXTRA- COMMANDER AND CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA.
REFUSSES TO FUND HIS TROOPS...
EXTRA EXTRA- WE THE PEOPLE FIND THE COMMANDER AND CHIEF AND PRESIDENT
GUILTY
AS CHARGE FOR DARRALECTION OF DUTY. TO PROTECT OUR TROOPS IN A TIME OF
WAR.
BY VETOING THE BILL THAT CONGRESS APPROVE FOR YOU AS COMMANDER AND CHIEF
OF
OUR ARMED FORCES KNOWENLY AND PURPOSLY TURN DOWN THE FUNDS THAT ARE
NEEDED
TO PROTECT OUR TROOPS.
AND ALL THAT SUPPORT THIS CRIMMENALS IN THE WHITEHOUSE ARE AS GUILTY AS
BUSH
IS,CHENY,ROVE,RICE,RUMSFELD THAT STILL HAS A OFFICE AT THE PENTAGON!!!!!
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DEMS/REPS/WHITE OR BLACK/ THIS HAS TO DO
WITH
SAVEING OUR TROOPS..NOW DO YOUR CONSTITUTIONUAL DUTY.....
No more money for Iraq = no more money for Halliburton.
A second veto ? This Bush really doesn't support the troops.
Bush gets his funding, Dems get to say they have the president "right where we want him".....it's a win-win situation.
Bush gets his funding, Dems get to say they have the president "right where we want him".....it's a win-win situation.
mm
SEND THIS SOB THE SAME BILL UNTIL HIS TERM IS OVER - PERIOD
This site is an Appeal For Redress against our mission in Iraq.
An Appeal For Redress is an authorized means for active duty military to submit a grievance to Congress. It can be signed by Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard military personnel.
The wording of the Appeal for Redress is:
As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our Democratic bill for a new direction in Iraq. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively support media efforts which increase American support at home. The War in Iraq is unjust, and an illegal effort to occupy the Middle East, thus putting America in danger from further attacks.
If you are active duty, reservist or national guard, please Sign this Appeal.
Most service members are against the war in Iraq and feel our President is mentally unstable and revelations by our media on how our President lied to us and about our mission serve to increase our support at home against this Bush War, thus diminishing the threat we face and resulting in less American casualties. This Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to Congress to fully support us in our determination to stop this madness and actively support media attacks on our deceitful government.
This Appeal will be delivered to members of Congress.
http://www.appealto impeach Bushit.org
This site is an Appeal For Redress against our mission in Iraq.
An Appeal For Redress is an authorized means for active duty military to submit a grievance to Congress. It can be signed by Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard military personnel.
The wording of the Appeal for Redress is:
As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our Democratic bill for a new direction in Iraq. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively support media efforts which increase American support at home. The War in Iraq is unjust, and an illegal effort to occupy the Middle East, thus putting America in danger from further attacks.
If you are active duty, reservist or national guard, please Sign this Appeal.
Most service members are against the war in Iraq and feel our President is mentally unstable and revelations by our media on how our President lied to us and about our mission serve to increase our support at home against this Bush War, thus diminishing the threat we face and resulting in less American casualties. This Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to Congress to fully support us in our determination to stop this madness and actively support media attacks on our deceitful government.
This Appeal will be delivered to members of Congress.
http://www.appealto impeach Bushit.org
The American People command this country, not this texas wing-nut neocon, ex-alcoholic !
Never give up Congress - keep up the good work!
Tricky-Dicky the second must have gone to Iraq to watch the corners being turned as the insurgency is in its last throes after their backs were broken and the parliament takes a vacation. The politicians there don't want to get in the way of their civil war fighters trying to add to the US death toll of 3381.
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