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| | Washington Digest/Congress approves Defense, counterterrorism bills
Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 By Samantha Young and Allecia Vermillion Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - The Senate last week completed a month of debate on legislation authorizing $447 billion in defense programs, boosting military pay, expanding the Army and allocating $25 million for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Senators disposed of a final batch of amendments before clearing the bill. In one party-line vote, senators rejected an amendment by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to force the Bush administration to turn over all documents on the treatment of enemy combatants interrogated in Iraq. Instead, the Senate unanimously adopted a Republican measure that requires the Pentagon to submit reports to Congress on the status and treatment of prisoners. The vote on the Leahy amendment came amidst a focus on the prisoner abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and recent disclosures that the Bush administration had been weighing questionable interrogation tactics to use on Taliban and al Qaeda detainees. Republicans accused Democrats of undermining the war on terror by seeking to embarrass the Bush administration. Democrats accused the White House of a cover-up. The Senate defeated the Leahy proposal by a 50-46 vote. Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both D-Ark., voted for the release of documents. In a related vote in the House, lawmakers voted 270-149 against requiring the White House to hand over documents related to the interrogations and the treatment of all enemy combatants. The House measure by Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, would have required documents regarding prisoners in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Reps. Marion Berry, D-Gillett, Mike Ross, D-Prescott, and Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock, voted to release the documents. Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, voted against it. Iraq Troop Levels The Senate rejected a measure by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., that would have required the Pentagon to give Congress an estimate of how many troops would be stationed in Iraq a year from now. In an effort to highlight Iraq's upcoming sovereignty, Democrats sought to force the Bush administration to issue a report addressing its efforts to bring more international troops and police to Iraq. Kennedy said more than a quarter of American troops are reservists who have been pulled from their jobs at home. Opponents said the Pentagon could not possibly predict troop levels in an unstable region. Senators rejected the measure 50-48. Lincoln and Pryor voted to require a troop level report. Veterans Health Care In another party-line vote, senators rejected a plan that would have expanded health benefits to veterans. The measure would have ensured veteran spending keep pace with inflation and a growing veteran population. The amendment by Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., sought to extend prescription drug and health care to all veterans at a price tag of $300 billion over 10 years. Opponents criticized the measure as a political maneuver that would have created a costly new entitlement. The measure fell 11 votes short of the 60 it needed to pass over a procedural hurdle. It was defeated 49-48. Lincoln and Pryor voted for the Daschle amendment. Counterterrorism Funding Approved The House narrowly approved a intelligence budget, disagreeing over how the funds should be provided to counterterrorism agencies next year. Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., said the bill provides for historic levels in intelligence funding, bolstering U.S. counterintelligence capabilities and improving information technology infrastructure. Democrats charged the bill provided only one-fourth of the money the intelligence community has said it needs for counterterrorism programs. They criticized a Republican strategy to fully fund intelligence efforts after the election in an expected war supplemental bill. The House approved the bill 360-61. Boozman, Berry, Ross and Snyder voted for the bill. Budget Restrictions Rejected Lawmakers defeated legislation that would have restricted federal spending by imposing across-the-board cuts if Congress failed to keep to the budget. A bill by Budget chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, pitted conservative Republicans against House appropriators who control the federal purse strings. The measure would have revived budget caps on all spending and required mandatory offsets for any measure that increased spending. Opponents said budget caps would violate the Constitution because it would diminish congressional authority by giving the president a say in setting spending levels. Lawmakers defeated the bill 268-146. Boozman voted for the budget caps. Berry, Ross and Snyder voted against them. -- 30 -- |
