House Passes Afghan Troop Surge Bill

(CBS/ AP)  Updated at 7:05 p.m.

The House is sending to President Barack Obama a bill to fund the troop surge in Afghanistan after accepting the reality that adding money for domestic programs was unfeasible.

House Democrats reluctantly voted for the $59 billion measure Tuesday that will pay for Obama's 30,000-troop surge and other programs such as replenishing disaster funds. But the bill was stripped of money to keep teachers on the job or boost student aid. The vote comes a week after the Senate soundly rejected the larger House-favored bill.

The bill contains $33 billion to pay for the new troops in Afghanistan and other Pentagon programs.

Obama requested the war money in February, but the bill became a staging ground for a battle over adding money for domestic needs.

House War Funding Bill Faces Fight in Senate

Mr. Obama said today there's not much new in the tens of thousands of leaked Afghanistan war documents. He made clear he's still full a committed to his troop surge strategy, reports CBS News correspondent Chip Reid.

In the House Tuesday, the Mr. Obama's own party was split down the middle on a crucial war funding vote. Liberal war critics used the leaked documents as a weapon. Mr. Obama found himself in the unusual position of relying on Republicans to pass his bill, reports Reid.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs said it's hard to wage war without the support of the American people. "I think obviously public opinion matters quite a bit when you have your forces in harm's way," he said.

In fact only in the early years did Americans believe the war in Afghanistan was going well. Between 2003 and 2008 when the focus was on Iraq support plummeted. After some minor ups and downs, today's approval stands at a mere 31 percent.

Even if Mr. Obama's right that there isn't much new in the leaked documents, they still threaten to turn public opinion against the war even more by focusing a spotlight on all that's gone wrong. The war funding bill now goes to Mr. Obama for his signature but it only funds the war for a few months so another big battle over paying for the war in Afghanistan is just around the corner.

More on the Afghan War WikiLeaks:

Leaked Docs Expose Afghan Failings, Plague Military
WikiLeaks Vs. the Pentagon Papers
WikiLeaks Changing Whistleblower Rules
Docs May Dent U.S.-Pakistani Relations
Washington Unplugged: WikiLeaks Paint Grim Afghan Picture
Did WikiLeaks Leaker Access Top Secret "Intelpedia?"
Hotsheet: White House Tries to Kill the Messenger

[amerilatino]

We should have learned our lessons in Vietnam and after the Reagan-era, CIA-aided-and-trained Afghanistan "freedom fighters" (now Al-Qaeda) turned against us. All we're doing in Afghanistan and Iraq is keeping the warbucks government contractors on the gravy train. Neither country really appreciates our efforts to "win their hearts and minds" through military presence, as they've been telling us since Vietnam (they will resort to whatever form of government they feel like after we're gone, just like Vietnam, and frankly it's not our concern). The Bush administration had so little respect for our intelligence that it openly lied about the "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq and then lied to us again when the cat got out of the bag, claiming concerns about Saddam Hussein's "reign of tyranny", which the U.S. government never gave a second thought about before (the U.S. government actually helped him gain power and trained him to be a honed killer at the School of the Americas). I understand that what mostly motivated the Bush administration were kickbacks from their no-bid contractor friends (I was born at night but not last night), but Mr. Obama has to come clean on his motives to continue allowing this draining of the American pocket to continue, or I will have to consider his administration no better than that of past presidents who over the years got us into this current mess through their short-sighted blunders in the first place.

[tsigili]

Bills need to stop being catch-alls, and need to be "targeted", to be efficient and cost-effective.

[Brokennews]

Typical PERSONAL ATTACK, before you get down to the reality of the situation, although with corporate America shipping jobs off for cheap labor, and building factories in chindia at breakneck speed, what exactly can you and your republican ideologies suggest for "making the U.S. a more desirable place to keep and maintain businesses?"

Since corporate America is already competing against the global market, where workers make less than a dollar an hour, and do not have to provide any benefits like health care, pensions or perks, please tell us exactly (without more PERSONAL ATTACKS) how to keep businesses from fleeing the U.S.

by maintain_integrity July 28, 2010 10:45 AM EDT

Pointing out that you are partisan is not a personal attack. Just a obvious observation to anyone reading. You have been shilling for the far left on every issue that comes up. You really shouldn't be embarressed to admit that you're a far left guy. Be who you are! But the idea that you would accuse someone else of being partisan as a negative is really pretty disingenuous considering your own political bias. As far as being a Republican, Swing & a miss there Sparky! I did my fair share of well deserved "Bush Bashing" in my time. Just because Bush did bonehead things does give a pass for Obama doing bonehead things.
I know independent political thought is an abhorant concept for some, but just try it once or twice. Maybe your political peripheral vision will improve.

[starving1968-3]

by RobAla July 28, 2010 6:53 AM EDT

The federal government has mismanaged Social Security and Medicare to the point that both programs are going bankrupt.






The Medicare system was doing fine until the republicans decided to create the "Medicare Part D" fiasco in 2005, at which point Medicare started hemorrhaging red ink by the billions.

Social Security has always been getting worse, since life spans are constantly increasing, and cost of living raises are going up faster than people are putting money into the system.

[retm-w]

Social Security would have been fine, if the past administrations back to at least LBJ wouldn't have stolen money from it. Both parties are to blame and neither one is doing anything to fix it.

[rightbehind]

If we stay they hate us. If we go they hate us. They write out checks for the war machine like it doesn't matter. If it comes to the unemployed or keeping teachers on the jobs they just can't find the ethics to spend the money. For what has been spent on these 2 wars we could have put solar power on 1 of every 3 single family homes in the United States. It's rapidly approaching 2 of every 3. Just think of the jobs it would have created. We need to force them to reduce senate terms to 2 years like every house seat. Republicans are proposing that the public's right to vote for senators be removed. They want the states to appoint them. If you want to fix this we first need to throw all republicans out of office.

[underdogus2007]

............How many more body bags are we sending?

[RobAla]

Incompetence in Washington DC has risen to an outrageous level. Continued expansion of the federal government, without a means to pay for it, is leaving us with a $1.47 trillion deficit for 2010 and a national debt that exceeds $13 trillion. The federal government has mismanaged Social Security and Medicare to the point that both programs are going bankrupt. This is gross mismanagement that has never been seen in corporate America. The incompetence and corruption of our leadership in Washington demands action by voters.

After removing many of our ridiculous Representatives and Senators from office, I want to see the following:

1) Significantly reduce the federal government to a manageable size and scope.
a) Repeal the health care bill and all of its associated expenses, taxes, and fees.
b) Reduce the size and scope of the IRS by replacing our currently form of income tax with the Fair Tax or a national sales tax.
c) Education in the US is run by the states, and the federal Department of Education educates no one. Eliminate this entire unnecessary federal Department.
d) Get the government out of running or competing with American private businesses (GM, AIG, Chrysler, Freddy Mac, Fannie Mae, NPR and PBS). Businesses should make it on their own.
e) Stop the built in automatic increases of funding for federal programs. Each program should be required to justify need for annual increase in funding.
2) Secure US borders, and enforce immigration laws.
3) With serious reductions to the size and scope of the federal government, we should be able to reduce the tax burden on all businesses and all individual taxpayers.
4) Open up ANWAR to drilling for oil.
5) Since leadership in Washington has proved it is incapable of handling the public?s money, we should pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the US Constitution.
6) We should do away with the seniority system used by Washington politicians, and pass and Amendment to the US Constitution imposing term limits on the House (3 two year terms) and the Senate (2 six year terms). No politician should retire on the taxpayer?s dime.
7) After establishing an environment where private business can begin hiring, the federal government should focus on reducing the national debt.
8) Address the mismanagement of Social Security and Medicare, so that none of the money for those programs can be spent otherwise.
9) Make sure the recipients of bailout money repay the American taxpayer, or have they liquidate their assets for repayment (GM, AIG, Chrysler, Freddy Mac, and Fannie Mae). No company is too big to fail. We have monopoly laws.
10) Stop allowing the federal government to micromanage state and local issues. Make sure the federal government is limited to declared Constitutional duties, and reserve the rights of states and local communities to handle all other responsibilities.

In summary: We are in dangerous economic times. Federal spending should focus on defending the nation and creating an environment where American private businesses can be successful. No bills, like cap and trade, should be passed which cripple American business. Also, this is no time to experiment with unproven or extremist ideologies.

[uzanabria1]

The best we can do is to get out of Afghanistan immediately.
We lost vision and clear objectives in that obscure area of the world where drug traffickers and other bandits have total control.
This is not Iraq where there was some sense of national identity.
It is a waste and useless to stay there.
If Osama is still alive he is always rotating caves and if he ever shows his head up thousands of harpoons, and bullets of all sizes will blow his guts away.
We do not need our Army there. Let?s bring them back as soon as possible.
?. Oh 30 Billion more for the war and no money to keep teacher on the job and funding for students .. sounds like the Dem, Lefties, and Libs hypocrisy in action again.

[wdh3007]

Bring all the troops home and send the 30,000 additional troops on the border with Mexico.

[tiredofeverything]

As George Bush might say, this is so 'uniquely American'
Always have money to pay for war, but for education? Not a chance.

Small wonder it's such a stupid country.