Iraq Bill To Be Split Up, Pelosi Defends Lack Of Withdrawal Timetable

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the rest of the House Democratic leadership just formally announced that the Iraq funding bill will be split into two different amendments - one representing President Bush's request for $103 billion for Iraq combat operations combined with "benchmarks" proposed by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), while the other is roughly $17 billion in domestic spending - and attached to a "placeholder" bill passed by the Senate last week. The new package includes no withdrawal timeline, something Democrats had insisted in including in the legislation for months, but were unable to enact in the face of Bush's opposition.

The unusual procedure will allow Democrats opposed to the war to vote against Bush's request plus the Warner language while still voting in favor of the domestic provisions, which include money for children and veteran's programs, aid for Katrina victims, disaster assistance for farmers, and a minimum-wage increase.

Pelosi and the other Democratic leaders also launched into a defense of their plan, which is already being heavily criticized by anti-war groups as a capitulation to Bush on Iraq since it includes no timetable for withdrawing American forces from the embattled country.