WASHINGTON-
The Senate defeated an amendment Wednesday that would have stripped $100 million from an Iraqi spending bill for security costs at national political conventions in St. Paul and Denver next year.
That leaves intact $50 million a piece for the Republican convention in St. Paul and the Democratic convention in Denver, although the bill faces a White House veto because it includes a spring 2008 timetable for bringing American troops home.
The amendment, defeated on a 51-45 vote, was offered by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who argued it had no place in a funding bill for U.S. troops.
“Members will have to make a difficult choice between booze and balloons or body armor and bullets,” he said this week.
That brought a retort from Sen. Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican who pushed for the funding.
“This is not about booze,” he said on the Senate floor. “Much of the leadership of each of our parties will be present across the board—federal, state, local. In this post-9/11 world, it’s very clear that local communities do not have the capacity to deal with this.”
The state’s other senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar, also defended the funding.
“I join my Minnesota colleague and our friends from Colorado in insisting that the states we represent receive support equal to that support that Congress has provided in the past,” she said in a Senate speech, “and that the funding for convention security for the Republican convention in Minnesota be protected in this bill.”
New York City and Boston received the same amounts for the 2004 conventions.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., told reporters the funding was necessary so host cities could adequately plan for security.
“Not knowing what funding is available hampers the two cities’ ability to develop their security plans,” he said.
In a statement, Coburn urged Americans to “take special note” of senators who voted to keep the $100 million in the bill and hold them accountable.
“Borrowing $100 million from the next generation to help politicians have a party is unconscionable,” he said. “As a result of this vote, politicians and campaign operatives can enjoy cigars and champagne with peace of mind while our soldiers continue to face bullets and suicide bombers.”
Coburn also argued that security funding for political conventions does not constitute an emergency and should not be funded in an emergency supplemental appropriations bill.
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Associated Press Writer Jennifer Talhelm contributed to this story.
