House Democrats Push Iraq Troop Withdrawal

KWAME HOLMAN:

House Democrats stood nearly unanimous last month in voting to oppose the president's plan to send an additional 22,000 troops to Iraq.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

… 146, the nays are 182.

KWAME HOLMAN:

But that vote was on a nonbinding resolution with no force of law.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

The motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

KWAME HOLMAN:

Now, deep divisions have emerged among House Democrats over the president's pending request for $100 billion in emergency funding to continue war operations.

This morning, Barbara Lee of California, representing a solid group of progressive Democrats in the House, said she would introduce an amendment to the emergency bill that would: restrict spending the money in Iraq to protection of the troops and Defense Department contractors; and require all U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by the end of this year.

REP. BARBARA LEE (D), California: We want to make sure the American people know that this war must end, that we stand with them, and we're leading the charge here in the House of Representatives to do just that.

KWAME HOLMAN:

However, the progressives' plan is at odds with the Democratic leadership's plan, announced shortly after by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That plan would set hard deadlines for a series of Iraq benchmarks, which the president laid out two weeks ago.

For instance, by July 1, 2007, the president must certify to Congress that the Iraqi government is making progress on providing its own security, allocating oil revenues, and creating a fair system for amending its Constitution.

By October 1st of this year, President Bush must certify those benchmarks have been met. If the president cannot meet either certification date, troop withdrawal would begin immediately and have to be completed within 180 days.

And regardless of the benchmarks, troop withdrawal would begin no later than March 1, 2008, to be completed within six months.

Speaker Pelosi said she believes it's a plan almost all House Democrats can agree on.

REP. NANCY PELOSI:

We are a caucus, and we will come together and find our common ground. And I believe, in the end, we will be unified on it. Many members of the "out of Iraq" caucus have committed to this. They understand the wisdom of it. They see that there are dates certain here, for the first time in the Congress, for the redeployment of our troops out of Iraq.

KWAME HOLMAN:

Once the Democrats had had their say, Minority Leader John Boehner emerged and said members of his party wouldn't support either plan.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), House Minority Leader: Republicans are not going to vote to tie the hands of our generals and our troops on the ground, slowly bleed the resources away from them. And we are not going to vote for failure in Iraq, which is exactly what their plan does.

KWAME HOLMAN:

The House Appropriations Committee is expected to take up the Iraq proposal next week.