| Veterans
News Flash 
Senate
Republicans Rebuke Bush on
Iraq & Afghan War Veterans
by Stephen Collinson
Thu May 22, 4:37 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republicans in the US Senate
on Thursday rebuked President George W. Bush and
joined majority Democrats to pass a bill offering
a fully-paid college education for Iraq and Afghan
war Veterans.
 John
Warner speaks while flanked by Harry
Reid (L), Chuck Hagel, Jim Webb (2nd
R) and Frank Lautenberg; AFP/Getty Images
Photo |
The vote marked one of the few occasions when
the Democratic-led Congress has been able to overcome
Republican blocking maneuvers to adjust any aspect
of the White House war strategy.
The Senate also passed a 165 billion dollar emergency
funding bill for the war, but rejected an amendment
containing a troop withdrawal timetable and restrictions
on US war policy which Bush vowed to veto.
The Veterans measure,
modelled on the post-World War II "GI bill," pays
for four years in college fees and living expenses
for returning Veterans.
It passed by a veto-proof 75-22 majority, as part
of a huge package of domestic spending, which Bush
has vowed to veto.
"This is an historic victory for America's
Veterans," said Senate Majority leader Harry
Reid.
"I hope president
Bush watches closely what happened here today,
and I hope he heeds the call of a bipartisan,
veto-proof majority of Congress and the thousands
of Veterans who know we owe our Veterans the
support they deserve."
Bush had warned he will veto the Iraq war funding
bill if it contains extra domestic spending. It
is unclear whether Democrats have the votes to
override the veto in the House of Representatives
as well as the Senate.
"The United States Congress needs to pass
a responsible war funding bill that does not tie
the hands of our commanders and gives our troops
everything they need to complete and accomplish
the mission," he said in Fort Bragg, North
Carolina earlier Thursday.
The measure was the brainchild of freshman Senator
Jim Webb from Virginia, who is attracting increasing
mentions as a possible vice presidential running
mate for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack
Obama.
It was also supported by Republican Senator Chuck
Hagel, like Webb, a Vietnam war veteran.
"One percent of our population does all the
dying, does all the fighting, makes all of the
sacrifices," Hagel said.
"This is about
honoring the commitment that Americans have made,
since 1944, to their Veterans."
Both Democratic presidential candidates, Obama
and Clinton returned from the campaign trail to
vote, but Republican presumptive nominee John McCain,
a former Vietnam war prisoner who opposed the current
bill, did not.
But the measure still sparked a fresh row between
McCain and Obama, who are already eyeing a potential
general election clash.
"I respect Senator John McCain's service
to our country," Obama said, in an unusually
direct speech on the Senate floor.
"But I can't understand
why he would line up behind the president in
opposition to this GI Bill. I can't believe why
he believes it is too generous to our Veterans."
Obama's comments drew a swift, and highly personal
statement from McCain.
"I take a backseat to no one in my affection,
respect and devotion to Veterans," the Arizona
said.
"I will not accept from Senator Obama, who
did not feel it was his responsibility to serve
our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard
for those who did," he said.
McCain says he is concerned that the Webb legislation
would harm retention rates in the US armed services,
and has offered an alternative approach that would
boost benefits according to a veteran's length
of service.
The two measures passed by the Senate will now
be returned to the House for a vote on the specific
funding measure.
Last week, the House rejected 163 billion dollars
in emergency spending for Iraq and Afghanistan,
in an unexpected but symbolic twist to the long
political battle over war funding.
A unusual number of 132 lawmakers, mostly Republicans,
abstained, or voted present, in a procedural ambush,
in protest at the way the legislation was handled
by the Democratic leadership.
The showdown was the latest tussle between the
White House and the Democratic-led Congress over
the funding of the war, which has killed more than
4,078 US soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
SOURCE:
Yahoo News
top
of page | 
