The Senate on Thursday followed the House’s lead, passing the bill that allows $124.2 billion to be dedicated to the war effort so long as our troops begin pulling out of Iraq by Oct. 1 and continue withdrawing over ensuing months. The ball is thus in Bush’s court, and his veto is practically a foregone conclusion at this point.

AP via Breitbart.com:

The 51-46 vote was largely along party lines, and like House passage of the same bill a day earlier, fell far short of the two-thirds margin needed to overturn the president’s threatened veto. Nevertheless, the legislation is the first binding challenge on the war that Democrats have managed to send to Bush since they reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in January.

“The president has failed in his mission to bring peace and stability to the people of Iraq,” said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He later added: “It’s time to bring our troops home from Iraq.”

The $124.2 billion bill requires troop withdrawals to begin Oct. 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks. The House passed the measure Wednesday by a 218-208 vote.

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