Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, announced today that the Senate will not approve war funding this calender year unless it is a $50 billion measure that calls for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The supplemental proposal put forward by Reid - which will likely be introduced as legislation within a matter of weeks, maybe sooner - will mimic a version crafted by Democrats in the House of Representatives, an official with Reid's office confirmed. The cohesion between the chambers, said one Democratic aide, will help reinforce that the war is President Bush's responsibility, not Congress'.
"This keeps the pressure on the president," the source said. "This is something the American people want done. This is representative democracy."
As the Huffington Post reported last Friday, this will be the toughest-worded war funding legislation that Democrats have considered since taking control of Congress, though the chances of overcoming President Bush's veto or a filibuster by Senate Republicans is extremely remote.
Beyond requiring the President to provide Congress with a plan for a complete redeployment of troops by December 15, 2008, the House version of the bill (which is slated to be introduced on Wednesday) reads:
"Within 30 days after enactment of this Act, the President shall commence an immediate and orderly redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq ... It is the sense of Congress that the war in Iraq should end as safely and quickly as possible and that our troops should be brought home."
The legislation will also prohibit deployment of forces to Iraq who are not fully trained, and change the strategy of U.S. forces in Iraq to diplomatic missions, force protection, and counterterrorism operations.
Finally, the supplemental language reaffirms that Democratic leadership won't be considering any additional war funding beyond this bill until early next year
"The amounts appropriated by this Act are sufficient to fully meet the immediate needs of the United States Armed Forces deployed to Iraq," the legislation concludes. "Congressional action on additional funding shall be deferred until [February 1, 2008]."