Monday, April 16, 2007

Final War Funding Bill in Works

WP

Democrats appear to be standing on firm political ground, as they work toward a final bill. A Washington Post-ABC News poll of 1,141 adults, conducted April 12-15, found that 58 percent trusted the Democrats in Congress to do a better job handling the situation in Iraq, compared with 33 percent who trusted Bush...

The final version is also expected to include House language that would establish binding benchmarks -- such as the passage of an oil-revenue-sharing law and the quelling of sectarian violence -- for the Iraqi government to meet to ensure full U.S. military support into next year...

The idea, aides said, is to show Democrats as willing to compromise with Bush and to make a veto more difficult to defend. That strategy would make it hard for House Democratic leaders to round up the 218 votes for passage, said Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), a member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee...

Having gotten this far, Democratic leaders said yesterday that they are not about to let divisions in their party stop a bill from reaching the president........

No comments: