WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Tuesday helped advance a Democratic-pushed bill to cut off money for the war in Iraq, saying the additional debating time would allow them to hail progress there.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the discussion will allow the GOP to cite the “extraordinary progress that’s been made in Iraq over the last six months.”
The Senate voted 70-24 to advance the bill past a procedural hurdle and begin debating it in earnest. A final vote was expected this week or next week.
The White House said the president would veto such a measure.
“This legislation would substitute the political judgment of legislators for the considered professional military judgment of our military commanders,” according to an administration statement.
Democrats said they welcomed the debate, although they accused Republicans of stalling on plans to debate other issues, namely the housing crisis.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said “a civil war rages” in Iraq and shouldn’t be the responsibility of U.S. taxpayers.
“Americans need to start taking care of Americans,” he said. “We cannot spend a half billion dollars every day in Iraq.”
Senate Republicans had been widely expected to block the measure, as they had done repeatedly in the past. But after emerging from a closed-door meeting earlier Tuesday, McConnell said the GOP members were now eager to discuss the war.
In recent months, violence in Iraq has subsided significantly and the Baghdad government has made small steps toward political reconciliation.
While Democratic voters remain largely against the war, polls have shown, the security improvement has helped to cool anxiety among Republicans and has turned voters’ focus to economic problems at home.
