Iraq withdrawal move thwarted in Senate
Ap, Washington
The Senate, spending the spring mired in divisive debate on Iraq, sharply rejected legislation Wednesday to cut off money for combat operations after March 2008. The vote was a loss for Sen Russell Feingold and other liberal Democrats who support taking the drastic step to end the war. But the effort picked up new support from members previously reluctant to limit war funding--an indication of the conflict's unpopularity among voters.The proposal lost 29-67 on a procedural vote, falling 31 votes short of the necessary votes to advance. "It was considered absolute heresy four months ago," Feingold, D-Wis, said of any legislative move to simply stop funding the war. "Well, today a majority of the Democratic senators said it is time to end the mission as we have it, and to bring this mistake to an end," he later added. "That is a huge change." The vote came as Sen Majority Leader Harry Reid planned to begin negotiating a war spending bill with the House. Unable to pass the House version of the bill--which funds the war in two-month installments--Reid staged a series of test votes Wednesday to determine how far senators are willing to go on war legislation. "We have to make certain that [troops] do receive the funds that they need," said Reid, D-Nev. "But we need to do it in the context of changing this policy. And I think our votes today are an indication that that sentiment is growing."
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