Pelosi Responds to Bush Veto Threat on Iraq Bill

[babylonsister]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/

March 10, 2007

Pelosi Responds to Bush Veto Threat on Iraq Bill

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) responded today to the threat by President Bush to veto the Iraq funding bill. House Democrats want to set a timetable for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq, which Bush and GOP congressional leaders vehemently oppose. Pelosi said that Bush only offers an "open-ended commitment to war without end" and rejects benchmarks for political reform by the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that Bush himself proposed. The $115 billion is scheduled to be taken up by the full House Appropriations Committee next week, and will be on the House floor the following week.

Here is Pelosi's statement in full:

"President Bush's Iraq policies weaken our military's readiness, dishonor our nation's promises to our veterans and fail to hold the Iraqi government accountable for overdue reforms.

"By threatening to veto the House's military funding bill, the president is walking away from his promise to the American people. The president has vowed to veto a bill that contains his own reform benchmarks for performance by the Iraqi government, our Defense Department's own standards for troop readiness and America's promise to our veterans.

"With his veto threat, the president offers only an open-ended commitment to a war without end that dangerously ignores the repeated warnings of military leaders, including the commander in Iraq, General Petraeus, who declared in Baghdad this week that the conflict cannot be resolved militarily.

"The House of Representatives will soon have a chance to choose a new direction for the American people. The bill the president dismisses out of hand will measure the Iraqi government's actions by the standards Mr. Bush himself set, conforms deployment of our troops to existing military standards for readiness and provides badly needed help to an overburdened military and veterans' medical system wracked by scandal."

[Fresh_Start]

1. Not to mention, Bush is walking about from the troops

since he's willing to defund the troops if Congress doesn't play ball his way.

[proud patriot]

2. Good for Nancy

:)

[robinlynne]

3. yes, but now isn't it time to cut the funding for the war, period? She defends

this bill as if it is THE ANSWER, when in fact, it was a centrist compromise. I'm ok with centrist compromises, when they are the right thing to do, but now that Bush took his stance, her stance should be MUCH TOUGHER. imho

[HooptieWagon]

10. I think Pelosi is ...

... painting the chimpenfuhrer into a corner. If he vetos the spending/timetable bill I doubt the Dems will then send a spending only bill. So if the troops are de-funded - the blame will fall on chimpenfuhrer's veto. It would be better if things could happen faster, but in Washington it's not just what you do, but how bad you paint the opposition while doing it. Unfortunately, more soldiers will die while Washington plays political games.

[Pab Sungenis]

11. So Bush will veto the bill

...and the Democrats in the House will sustain the veto, thus ending all funding for the war.

Simple, isn't it?

[robinlynne]

12. nice idea. but he does the signing statement thing, ie line veto, remember?

[Left Hook]

15. There is another huge obstical

Gettung the 60 votes needed for debate in the Senate.

[orpupilofnature57]

4. Impeachment is the only sound in the forest.

Dealing with an incorrigible sociopath is ruining our country and taxing the world.

[ClassWarrior]

6. She'll get there... but only with our help...

I know it's damn frustrating, but politics are incremental. We just need to keep plugging away at making our will known.

NGU.

[robinlynne]

13. I know. I have problems with politics, the negotiating, smiling, conceding part....

But I understand it is necessary... i could never do it personally.

[orpupilofnature57]

16. She can so she should know what to do and when to do it ,IMPEACH!!!

[HockeyMom]

5. Minimum wage attached to this

funding bill. I read this on the Freepers site.

What a bunch of b-----ds.

[robinlynne]

14. I think our side did that... I'm against that too. They were imitating the repubs.

[rodeodance]

7. but she essentially gives Bush his 'one last chance"

[merh]

8. She is a smart lady

She uses his words and promises against.

Thank you Speaker Peloshi :thumbsup:

[bigtree]

9. could work

should work

still waiting to hear more from the out of Iraq caucus