Bud Cramer: Congress should impose deadline for defeat in Iraq

Last Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $124 billion supplemental appropriations bill that would force the administration to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq by March 2008 and require that all troops be out of the country by September 1, 2008. The vote was 36-28, with Rep. Bud Cramer (D. - Huntsville) voting in the majority.

From the Washington Post:

Democratic legislation to set timelines for the removal of troops from Iraq headed for a showdown on the House floor next week after the Appropriations Committee approved a $124 billion war funding bill yesterday that would end the U.S. role in the conflict by next year. ...

The 36 to 28 vote in the House committee was [...] largely along party lines, except for a no vote from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), an ardent opponent of the Iraq war who wants troops out by the end of this year. ...

Under the House bill, the Iraqi government would have to meet strict benchmarks spelled out by Bush in January, including quelling sectarian violence, disarming sectarian militias, approving a law on sharing oil revenue and setting in motion new local elections.

If by July 1 the president could not certify any progress, U.S. troops would begin leaving Iraq, to be out before the end of this year. If Bush did certify progress, the Iraqi government would have until Oct. 1 to meet the benchmarks, or troops would begin withdrawing then. In any case, withdrawals would have to begin by March 1, 2008, and conclude by the end of that summer. ...

The bill also would mandate that troops could be deployed to Iraq only if they are deemed thoroughly trained and equipped. Soldiers would need at least one year's rest between deployments, although the president could get around those requirements by justifying a waiver in writing. ...

Included in the legislation is a lot of money to help win support. The price tag exceeds the president's war request by $24 billion and lavishes extra money on military and veterans' health care, the war in Afghanistan, aviation, border and port security, Gulf Coast assistance and levee repairs, agricultural assistance, and wildfire fighting.

Democrats in the committee chose to emphasize items such as $900 million to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. Republicans spotlight less politically popular items, such as $25 million to bail out spinach farmers hurt by E. coli and $74 million for peanut storage.