Washington – Three of the four Democrats in Colorado’s U.S. House delegation Thursday endorsed party leadership’s plan to link Iraq War funding to the Iraqi government achieving success benchmarks.
But only Ed Perlmutter of Golden embraced the entire plan, as announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which also sets a troop withdrawal deadline.
“It supports the troops, it definitely support our veterans,” Perlmutter said. “It really starts bringing some pressure on the president and the way he’s conducted this affair.”
Reps. Diana DeGette of Denver and Mark Udall of Eldorado Springs said they’d need to see the actual bill before deciding how to vote. That bill is expected to be introduced early next week.
Rep. John Salazar of Manassa was reviewing Pelosi’s proposal and “will independently decide what is best for our troops and best for our nation,” spokeswoman Tara Trujillo said. She did not know when Salazar would make his decision.
Udall said he was concerned about a troop withdrawal date.
“I have consistently urged a responsible end to the war based on a strategy of phased withdrawal of troops, accelerated diplomacy and redeployment that is based on Iraqi stability and not arbitrary deadlines,” Udall said. “I think it would be wiser if (a specific timetable for withdrawal) were not part of the final bill that we will consider on the floor of the House of Representatives.”
Salazar is a member of the Blue Dog coalition, which emphasizes caution in spending federal money. The plan Pelosi detailed gives an additional $4.5 billion above the amount Bush requested for Iraq and Afghanistan efforts.
“You can try to be as fiscally conservative as possible but you still have to fund our troops,” Trujillo said.
DeGette, chief deputy whip for House Democrats, spent Thursday talking to numerous other lawmakers about what they’d need to see in the actual bill to support it.
