House Votes To End War, Bush Vows Veto
March 24, 2007, 10:33am
The House yesterday narrowly passed an emergency spending bill that would continue funding U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq but also require the withdrawal of most U.S. troops by Sept. 1, 2008.
The Washington Post reports that the vote, which divided Democrats into factions that either wanted to end the war now rather than wait 18 months or not impose any conditions on funding troops, was 218-212. All but two Republicans voted against the measure; 14 Democrats also voted “no.”
Republicans also decried the addition of money for pet projects in lawmakers’ districts.
President Bush vowed to veto the bill. He scolded Democrats for their “act of political theater” in passing a bill that “has no chance of becoming law” and that would “substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq.”
“The Democrats have sent their message; now it’s time to send their money,” Bush said.
Here are video excerpts of the floor debate:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.: “This war is a grotesque mistake. … Rather than sending more troops into the chaos that is the Iraqi civil war, we must be focused on bringing the war to an end.”
Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio: “The benchmarks I see in this bill are intended to bring about failure, to bring about stumbles. And if you look at all of the handcuffs, all of the hoops and hurdles that are in here, I believe there’s only one outcome … and that outcome is failure.”
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.: “We’re gonna make a difference with this bill. We’re gonna bring those troops home, we’re gonna start changing the direction of this great country.”
Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas: “We can’t tie the hands of the guys on the ground with timelines or benchmarks. And worse, we shouldn’t be using an emergency troop spending bill as a way of to finance the political gimmickery of special-interest projects. It’s just exasperating that the Democrat leaders have turned the emergency troop spending bill into a pork-barrel project giveaway.”
Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa.: The bill “leads our way out of Iraq; it leads the way to rebuild our overextended Army; it leads the way to win the war on terror.”
Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.: “[T]he bill brought before us today isn’t written with victory in mind. It’s prevailing tone is one of defeat, and it’s abiding premise is that America’s mission in Iraq is over and troops’ continued status there is without merit.”
Pelosi’s office posted several more video excerpts of Democratic floor speeches to YouTube.
After the vote, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat and 2008 presidential candidate who has been a strong opponent of the Iraq war from the start, lamented that the House voted to continue funding the war. he posted an online video appeal to voters, urging them to organize “a powerful civic response” and “insist that our nation take a new direction now in Iraq.”
Categories: Military, Producer's Picks, Iraq, White House, Presidency 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Budget, Dennis Kucinich, Sam Johnson
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