Congress Votes on Resolution Backing Troops
Thursday, March 20, 2003
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans are expected to vote Thursday on a resolution that would express Congress' support for the troops and President Bush.
As Senate and House Democrats negotiated over the language of the resolution — and whether it should include an endorsement of the president or merely express backing for military forces serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom — lawmakers said they expected the vote to sail through.
Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said the Senate bill would also recognize British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his steadfast support of efforts to disarm Iraq.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., met with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., Thursday to discuss the languge.
Coming off the Senate floor, Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Carl Levin, D-Mich., said the language would include support for the commander-in-chief. That was a confirmation of spotty support earlier in the day, as Democrats debated whether they would endorse the president or extend support only to U.S. soldiers in the field.
House Republican leaders said they would also vote on the resolution by day's end. Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said he would not be deterred by "some folks [who] want to make a political game out of this."
Earlier in the day, the Senate and House minority leaders said in unequivocal terms that despite policy differences over failed diplomatic efforts and military action in Iraq, Democrats are united in their support for both President Bush and U.S. troops.
"We may have had differences of opinion about what brought us to this point, but the president is the commander-in-chief and today, we unite behind him as well," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
"Dictators ... often mistake disagreement for disunity. ... There is continued debate but there is no disunity," said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md. "There should be no mistake today, we are in support of our men and women who put themselves in harm's way."
However, congressional sources say that some Democrats are having trouble swallowing a reference to Bush's "firm leadership." House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was meeting with Hastert on Thursday afternoon.
Republican and Democratic leaders were informed of the beginning of hostilities around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. The White House had tried to improve its relations with lawmakers by keeping key leaders in the mix as it moved closer to war.
Daschle said Rice phoned him with enough details to give him a "sufficient understanding" of what was happening in Iraq. Pelosi said she was informed that the move was sold as "an action that would save lives."
On the Senate floor Thursday, Frist said that though a resolution was to be passed, he wanted to continue debating the budget and other pressing issues.
But Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., suggested that the Senate move off the budget to talk about war, saying the extraordinary circumstances made it inappropriate for the Senate to continue with "business as usual."
Asked if members would be serving their constituents better if they took a week off to be at home in their districts, as Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., suggested Wednesday, Daschle said while Dodd's point is well taken, "I also recognize the need for the Senate to continue its work."
Daschle, however, disagreed with Frist that the budget needs to be done right away.
"I do think many members would like to express themselves [about the war with Iraq] ... I don't know of anything more important than that. ... But to the extent that that has been exhausted, I have no objection to moving back to the budget," Daschle said.
On Thursday, House and Senate Republican leaders were continuing to tally votes to see if they had the support to pass a $2.2 trillion budget that includes $726 billion of the president's $1.57 trillion, 10-year tax cut. Moderates want to slice that tax-cutting package in half and put the money toward reducing the expected $300 billion deficit next fiscal year. |
