|
House Republicans to back Bush's war-spending veto |
|
By Jackie Kucinich
|
|
Posted: 04/02/07 12:32 PM [ET] |
In a letter sent to the White House on Monday, House GOP members assured President Bush that they would support his decision to veto the emergency supplemental spending bill.
“We are greatly concerned about the extraneous and excessive non-security related funds contained within the Global War on Terror supplemental spending bill currently under consideration in the Congress,” the letter read. “If you choose to veto this measure over this spending, we will sustain your veto.”
One hundred fifty-four lawmakers signed the letter; two-thirds of House members must vote to override a presidential veto.
“If Democrats insist on sending the White House a bloated war-spending measure loaded with billions in pork, House Republicans will sustain the president’s veto,” Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said. “This letter sends a strong message that Republicans will continue to fight for a clean troop-funding bill, without tying funding for our generals and our troops to arbitrary restrictions or pork-barrel projects.”
On March 23, a $124 billion spending bill that included benchmarks and a withdrawal date passed by the narrow count of 218-212 and was seen as victory for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). The bill also included $23 billion is so-called pork projects, prompting an almost immediate pushback from conservatives who said the additional funding had no place in the wartime spending bill.
Two Republicans, Reps. Walter Jones (N.C.) and Wayne Gilchrest (Md.), joined Democrats to pass the bill.
Last Friday, the Senate passed the bill 51-47.
Bush has vowed to veto the bill and Friday criticized the military deadlines.
“Each of the Democrats’ bills would substitute the judgment of politicians in Washington for that of our generals on the ground,” Bush said during his weekly radio address. “Each bill would impose restrictive conditions on our military commanders. Each bill would also set an arbitrary deadline for surrender and withdrawal in Iraq, and I believe that would have disastrous consequences for our safety here at home.”
Bush said that for those reasons, and because of the “billions of dollars in domestic spending completely unrelated to the war [included in the legislation],” he would veto the bill.
The $122 billion Senate bill calls for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops by March 31, 2008. The House bill provides $124 billion for the Iraq war and requires a complete redeployment of combat troops by Aug. 31, 2008.
|
