Iraq debate shifts to the House

It's a tactic Republicans have used in the past to embarrass Democrats who oppose Bush's war strategy – and one that some GOP leaders now say they regret.

When Rep. John Murtha (D) of Pennsylvania, a longtime friend of the military, broke with the White House in November 2005 and proposed an immediate, phased withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, House GOP leaders rushed a recorded vote to express the sense of the House that the deployment of US forces in Iraq "be terminated immediately." The language was crafted to embarrass Representative Murtha and to squelch any antiwar momentum from his high-profile reversal on the war. As expected, the vote failed, 3-403.

Some Republican leaders now say that strategy of forced, preemptive votes was a mistake. "It was clearly a ploy. Everybody in American knew it was a ploy, and we paid a price in November," said Rep. Adam Putnam (R) of Florida, the new House Republican conference chairman, last week.

Meanwhile, Murtha, who now chairs the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, is laying groundwork for a vote on funding as early as mid-March, when the House is expected to take up Bush's $99.6 billion war funding request for fiscal 2007. He says he aims to build a robust case for redirecting spending to adequately equip and train US forces, rather than to fund a troop surge.

"Our concern is the proper supply and backup to the troops already in theater, as we transform this mission to one where we can be successful," says Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D) of Ohio, a member of the defense subcommittee.

The US Senate and House of Representatives have voted dozens of times on resolutions, funding measures, and amendments pertaining to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Below is an abbreviated record of their votes.

107th Congress: Republicans control the House (221-214*); Democrats control the Senate (51-49*)

October: A joint resolution is approved to authorize use of armed forces against Iraq (House 296-133, Senate 77-23).

• House rejects Barbara Lee amendment urging peaceful means to resolve the issue (72-355).

• House rejects amendment to require the president to seek congressional authority before using military force against Iraq without a UN resolution (155-270).

• • •

108th Congress: Republicans control House (229-204*) and Senate (51-48*)

April: Congress approves $78.5 billion in emergency war funding (House by voice vote, Senate by unanimous consent).

• Senate rejects amendment calling on the president to raise revenues to offset Iraq war costs (18-79).

October: Senate rejects amendment to offset Iraqi reconstruction costs by eliminating income-tax cuts enacted in 2001 for top 1 percent of earners (42-57).

• Senate adopts Lindsey Graham amendment to express the sense of Congress that Saddam Hussein's removal has enhanced the security of Israel and other US allies (95-2).

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