U.S. House panel upholds Iraq pullout plan

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U.S. House panel upholds Iraq pullout plan

Updated Thu. Mar. 15 2007 1:36 PM ET

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A Democratic plan to require the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq passed its first test in the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday as the panel voted to go ahead, overcoming Republican opposition.

Members voted 37-27 to uphold a provision in a $124 billion war spending legislation that calls for troops to leave Iraq before September 2008, and possibly sooner if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks. Republicans had proposed stripping out the timetable.

The vote gave Democrats a victory, if only for the moment, in their effort to challenge President Bush's war policies and pressure him into starting a withdrawal of U.S. troops.

The committee was expected to approve the overall spending bill by later Thursday, but its longer-range fate is dim. In the Senate, minority Republicans can use procedural moves to block the troop withdrawal language and the White House has threatened to veto the bill if it contains the language forcing the removal of troops.

Rallying enough support for the bill, which allots $95.5 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been a challenge for Democratic leaders. Many party members support bringing troops home sooner than the 2008 deadline, while others have been reluctant to embrace a firm deadline to end the war.

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