Dems Back Down on Iran

House Democrats have agreed to drop a provision from an upcoming war spending bill that would have required congressional approval before the president could declare war on Iran. The legislation, if it survives a veto, would still demand the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by Sept. 1, 2008.

AP via Yahoo

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other leaders agreed to remove the requirement concerning Iran after conservative Democrats as well as other lawmakers worried about its possible impact on Israel, officials said Monday.

The overall bill—which requires the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by Sept. 1, 2008, if not earlier—remained on schedule for an initial test vote Thursday in the House Appropriations Committee.

The measure provides nearly $100 billion to pay for two wars and includes more money than Bush had requested for operations in
Afghanistan and what Democrats called training and equipment shortages. Still, House Republicans said they wouldn’t support it and the White House threatened a veto.

Read more