Army News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Army Times

Senate leader vows 48 hours of Iraq debate

The Senate Democratic leader said Monday there will be at least 48 continuous hours of debate on the 2008 defense authorization bill as he attempts to get an up-or-down vote on an amendment calling for the withdrawal of most U.S. combat troops from Iraq.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who as the majority leader sets the schedule for floor debate, said he was talking about “an old-fashioned filibuster” aimed at painting Republicans as “more interest in protecting the president than our troops.”

Reid is exercised over the effort, so far successful, but Democrats require 60 votes, rather than a simple majority of 50 votes, to pass amendments to the 2008 defense authorization bill. That is because Republicans are threatening endless debate, which under Senate rules can be cut off only by a 60-vote majority. With only a handful of Republican supporters on their side, Democrats, who have a thin majority in the Senate, can muster only about 55 votes — short of the 60 needed to get an up-or-down vote.

“We are going to stay in session around the clock,” Reid said.

It is not clear how such a move would force Republicans to change their tactics. Republican leaders said they were more than happy to debate Iraq policy but were undeterred from using whatever parliamentary procedure is available.

With 192 amendments pending and more on the way, Reid said he still wanted to finish work this week on the $648 billion 2008 defense authorization bill. After one week of debate, the Senate handled only 17 amendments — most of those related to a wounded warrior package attached to the bill — but has yet to tackle controversial amendments proposing to end or change U.S. combat operations in Iraq.

Reid said he probably would move on Wednesday to prevent senators from offering any more amendments, hoping to preserve any chance of getting the policy bill passed by the end of the week. His warning was expected to prompt another flood of amendments.

It is not unusual to have more than 300 amendments filed on the annual defense bill. Most of the amendments never come to a vote because they are withdrawn or wrapped into uncontested packages that are approved by voice vote without debate.

Last week, Republicans put up procedural roadblocks that stopped two war-related amendments dealing with deployment length because Democrats could not muster the 60 votes needed to stop endless debate. Republican leaders have indicated they will use the same tactic to block passage of any other Iraq-related provisions or use other tactics to prevent a clear vote on a Democratic alternative to the Bush administration’s current surge strategy in Iraq.

Reid said he will try to get a direct vote on Iraq, something that would require a simple majority to pass, but the exact procedure has not been decided. “The American people deserve an up-or-down vote on this amendment, which we believe will lead to a responsible end to this intractable war,” he said, pledging to also allow an up-or-down vote on any Republican-sponsored Iraq amendment.

The chief Democratic amendment, for the moment, is sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., and would order a redeployment of U.S. combat forces in Iraq so they are involved in training Iraqi security forces, in counterterrorist operations and in security of U.S. and other coalition forces, but not in quelling sectarian violence. Levin and Reed said they expect such a change would reduce the number of U.S. ground combat forces in Iraq but their amendment does not specify a number.

One Republican alternative, opposed by the White House, asks for the Bush administration to prepare a new strategy for Iraq to implement by Dec. 31 that assumes sectarian violence in Iraq is not significantly reduced and that the Iraqi government does not assume more control of its own security. Sponsored by Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and John Warner, R-Va., it is aimed at trying to build a consensus between Democrats and Republicans.

Republicans supporting the White House are rallying around an amendment for Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that is a resolution supporting continued military combat operations in Iraq to prevent the spread of terrorism.