September 19, 2007
Webb Amendment Restricting Length Of Deployments Defeated
UPDATED.
A bill sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., that would have put strict limits on the duration of troop deployments garnered 56 votes in a voice vote this afternoon, four short of the 60 needed to reach cloture.
The legislation, an amendment to the defense authorization bill, had provided a glimmer of hope for war opponents one day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, citing Republican intransigence, nixed a bipartisan effort to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.
The legislation would have given troops serving in Iraq at least as much time stateside as they spend on their combat tours. It was defeated in a cloture vote in July but had since resurfaced as the Democrats' last hope of changing course in Iraq -- and ducking the anger of anti-war voters.
A number of GOP senators had gone back and forth this week on whether they'd support the proposal. Yesterday, four Republicans indicated they were leaning toward supporting the bill, and today the New York Times reported that Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter was also considering throwing his weight behind it. The additional support put the bill's bipartisan sponsors within striking distance of the 60 votes needed to pass cloture, and at a press conference this morning, Webb told reporters he thought the measure had "a very good shot" at making it through.
But in the end, none of those wavering senators voted for the amendment, nor did Virginia Sen. John Warner, who voted for it in July. Warner announced on the floor earlier today that he had made up his mind to vote against it, saying he was convinced it would cause "severe problems" for U.S. forces if implemented. That sentiment was echoed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates over the weekend.
Warner proposed his own version of the amendment with Arizona Republican John McCain, which would have recommended longer home stays instead of mandating them. The amendment also fell short of the necessary 60 votes, gaining only 55, but may have bled off Republican support for Webb's plan. And even if the Webb amendment had passed, few expected Bush to sign off on it. Gates has already made clear he would recommend a presidential veto.
While Webb's proposal was not the only option on the table, it had generated the most support. Other options for lawmakers seeking to pressure the administration into changing course on Iraq include Sen. Joseph Biden's plan to partition Iraq, a measure to implement the findings of the Iraq Study Group and an effort by Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, to shift U.S. forces away from combat operations and toward border security.
Posted at 6:23 PM
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Congress, Iraq, Military, President Bush, Robert Gates, Senate
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