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Murtha: Iraq bill to come up in March |
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By Roxana Tiron
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Posted: 02/07/08 01:45 PM [ET] |
A leading House Democrat wants to reignite the debate over the withdrawal of troops from Iraq in March, a move that represents a marked change after Democratic leaders in both chambers toned down their rhetoric in recent months.
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the chairman of the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and a leading critic of the Iraq war, said that his panel would likely be done considering the second installment of the 2008 war supplemental by the end of February.
“After that I will try to convince the leadership to bring it up in March,” he told reporters Thursday, after he spoke at the Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He said he would make the same recommendations as he did last year: setting a goal date for troop withdrawals and mandating standards for troop readiness.
Murtha added that introducing troop withdrawal language is a leadership decision. House leadership is still under pressure from the liberal base to force a change in Iraq policy.
“People have been to my office every day saying, ‘You have not gotten out of Iraq yet,’ ” Murtha said.
“I think [legislation] will pass the House; whether it will pass the Senate I do not know,” Murtha added. So far, Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked Democratic attempts to get the 60 votes necessary to pass their Iraq legislation.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been urging Congress to pass the remaining $102 billion in the 2008 supplemental request as soon as possible. Money would run out by June or, at the latest, July. Murtha said that he does not want to wait until the summer to consider the supplemental.
“They need planning time,” he said. “[A] supplemental is not the way to do it, but let’s give it to them early enough so that they don’t have to screw around like they did last year.”
The Pentagon and the White House have been under fire in Congress for not submitting an entire estimate for the war costs in fiscal year 2009. When the Pentagon submitted its 2009 budget request, it included only $70 billion as a “bridge fund” for the war.
When pressed at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday, Gates reluctantly said that the war may cost $170 billion for fiscal 2009, but added that the number will be wrong. Murtha said he expects to see at least $200 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan next year.
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