Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/senate-narrowly-signals-support-for-troop-withdrawal Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript The Senate showed slim support for nonbinding wording setting a target date of next March to remove troops from Iraq. A Republican attempt to scuttle the measure failed Tuesday in a 50-48 vote, mostly along party lines. The NewsHour presents excerpts of the debate. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. KWAME HOLMAN: Congressional debate in recent weeks over continuing funding of the Iraq war has made one point quite clear: The two parties differ sharply on whether a timetable for troop withdrawal should be tied to legislation paying for military operations.Majority Democrats say it should. And in a deeply partisan debate last week, House Democrats successfully attached timetable language to their Iraq funding bill, prompting a veto threat from the White House.And this week, Democrats in the Senate, holding only a slight majority, are trying to do the same.SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), Senate Majority Leader: The language in the bill is something that's supported by the vast majority of the American people. It's a very important piece of legislation. This is a civil war. It's turned into an intractable civil war. The president must change course, and this legislation will allow him to do that. KWAME HOLMAN: The $122 billion funding bill, most of which is dedicated to Iraq, would require a phased redeployment of U.S. troops within 120 days of enactment and set as an ultimate goal the withdrawal of all forces by March 31st of next year.Republicans charged Democrats with setting a "date for defeat." Arizona's John McCain says the U.S. currently is making significant progress in Iraq.SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), Arizona: There's patrols in Sadr City. There are neighborhoods in Baghdad that are quiet. The sheiks in Anbar province are cooperating.We are making progress, and we can succeed with this new strategy. To hamstring and to announce that we are leaving is one of the most shameful things I've ever seen.