The Democrat-controlled United States Congress bowed to President George Bush on Thursday night and voted to approve a further $95-billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, without setting the timetable for troop withdrawal that drew his earlier veto.
The Bill, which funds the wars until the end of September, establishes a series of goals for the Iraqi government to meet. Continued US reconstruction aid will be conditioned on progress toward the so-called benchmarks, although Bush retains the authority to order that the funds be spent regardless of how the Baghdad government performs.
”The Iraqi government needs to show real progress in return for America’s continued support and sacrifice,” the president said, warning that August could prove to be a bloody month for US troops in Baghdad’s most dangerous neighbourhoods.
Bush’s comments came as the US military announced the deaths on Friday morning of a further six US soldiers in action in Iraq in the past few days. The deaths raised the US toll for May to at least 88, making it one of the deadliest months for US troops in Iraq. More than 3 400 US troops have been killed the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
In addition to jettisoning their plan for a withdrawal timeline, Democrats also abandoned attempts to require the Pentagon to adhere to troop training, readiness and rest requirements unless Bush waived them.
In exchange, the Democrats won White House approval for about $17-billion in spending above the sum originally sought by the Bush administration. Roughly $8-billion was for domestic programmes from hurricane relief to farm aid to low-income children’s health coverage.
Democrats also won the first minimum wage increase in more than a decade. The current minimum of $5,15 an hour will rise to $7,25 in three installments.
The Senate voted 80 to 14 to send the legislation to the president, less than two hours after the House had given its approval by a margin of 280 to 142.
Democrats in both houses coupled their concession with pledges to renew their challenge to Bush’s policies — and repeatedly force Republicans to choose between the president and public sentiment on the unpopular war.
”Senate Democrats will not stop our efforts to change the course of this war until either enough Republicans join with us to reject President Bush’s failed policy or we get a new president,” the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, said.
”This debate will go on,” said the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
But the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, cautioned against more of the same. ”I want to make it clear … that if all funding Bills are going to be this partisan and contentious, it will be a very long year,” he said. – Guardian Unlimited Â