By ANNE FLAHERTY
The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 7, 2007; 10:03 PM
WASHINGTON -- House Democratic leaders coalesced Wednesday around a stripped-down measure that disapproves of President Bush's decision to send more forces to Iraq and declares support for the troops, according to party aides who said a vote was likely next week.
The vote would be the first on the House floor on the war since Democrats wrestled control of Congress in the Nov. 7 elections. The war, stretching nearly four years and killing more than 3,000 troops, has become widely unpopular among voters.
Democratic officials said they hoped for bipartisan support for the measure, and one Republican leader conceded some members of the GOP rank-and-file would likely break ranks.
"I don't think it'll be a pure party-line vote," said Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., chairman of the House Republican Conference.
Democratic leaders met privately Wednesday to discuss the issue, and they intend to present their proposal to their own rank-and-file Thursday.
Leaders envision each House member getting a chance to speak for five minutes on the issue during a three-day debate. The proposal is expected to circumvent committee review.
Such a measure would indicate House leaders want their own approach to parting company with Bush on the war and are moving away from a version that stalled in the Senate.
That resolution, drafted by Sen. John Warner, R-Va., stated disagreement to Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. In a bid to attract more GOP support, Warner added a section promising to protect funding for troops in combat _ a promise many House Democrats do not want to make.
"The president has left the Congress few alternatives other than to use the power of (the) purse spelled out in Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution to curtail U.S. military operations in Iraq," wrote California Democratic Reps. Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee on behalf of 71 members of the progressive congressional caucus, a liberal group.
Frustrated that Senate leaders could not agree on debate rules for his resolution, Warner and six other Republicans told the leaders in a letter Wednesday that "the current stalemate is unacceptable to us and to the people of this country."
Republicans, on a party-line vote, blocked debate on the resolution earlier this week.
"Despite what has happened earlier this week, we are not going away," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Collins and Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., sided with Democrats in seeking to move ahead on the measure.
Five other Republicans who oppose the troop increase and voted to bottle up the measure signed the letter. The five are Sens. Warner, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Gordon Smith of Oregon and George Voinovich of Ohio.
Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he hoped the letter signified that the five Republicans "have had a change of heart and will be willing to vote for their own resolution in the future."
As the House moved toward a vote, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers they did not think debate in Congress would hurt the morale of troops in combat.
Less than two weeks ago, Gates said a congressional resolution opposing the Iraq strategy undercuts U.S. commanders in Iraq and "emboldens the enemy."
"As long as this Congress continues to do what it has done, which is to provide the resources for the mission, the dialogue will be the dialogue, and the troops will feel supported," Pace told the House Armed Services Committee.
Gates said troops understand members of Congress want to find the best way to win the war. "I think they're sophisticated enough to understand that that's what the debate's really about," he said.
Senate Democrats, outmaneuvered in their efforts to get a vote on a resolution opposing Bush's troop buildup, said they will now try to put pressure on Bush by amending legislation that is likely to reach his desk, daring him to veto.
Reid is expected to meet with Democrats to hash out what amendments to offer to upcoming legislation. The next bill that could serve as a vehicle for Iraq measures is legislation adopting recommendations from the 9-11 Commission.
Finding proposals that have broad Democratic appeal is a different challenge for Reid. Various Senate Democrats have proposed cutting off funding for the new troops, setting a cap on the U.S. military presence in Iraq, and setting a timeline for withdrawal. None have unanimous support within the Democratic caucus.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that 350 civilians were being recruited for an expansion in reconstruction programs. She said these included engineers, legal experts and soil specialists.
David Satterfield, her senior adviser on Iraq, told reporters that 129 U.S. military reservists would be sent to Iraq for six to nine months along with 19 additional foreign service officers to work on new projects. The reservists would be replaced by contractors after Congress provides the funds needed to hire them, he said.
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Associated Press writers David Espo and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.
