Steve Quayle News Alerts

October 9, 2003
By Vicki Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday rebuffed attempts to make Iraq repay funds for its reconstruction as they pushed President Bush's $87 billion spending request for Iraq through a key committee.

The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill 47-14 after defeating a sweeping Democratic amendment that would have reduced funding for Iraqi rebuilding, made Iraq repay some of the money, and trimmed tax rates on the highest U.S. incomes to pay for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq.

The full House and Senate are expected next week to consider the emergency spending bill, which has been a lightning rod for Democratic criticism of Bush's handling of post-war Iraq.

Bush gained an important win as the committee approved the spending bill largely as he wanted it, despite a push led by conservative Republicans and embraced by many Democrats to make Iraq use its future oil revenue to repay some or all of the money to overhaul its infrastructure.

The House committee's bill trimmed $1.7 billion from the $20.3 billion Bush wanted for Iraq's reconstruction to try to ease qualms of many lawmakers over the cost.

The White House argued that seeking Iraqi repayment of the money would undermine U.S. efforts to get donations from other countries at a conference in Spain scheduled for this month.

Rep. Zach Wamp, a Tennessee Republican who wrote an amendment for loans, was summoned to the White House on Wednesday to meet with Bush.

"The president is very passionate about this," Wamp said afterward.

Wamp said he felt it was important to raise the issue, but then withdrew his amendment, acknowledging he did not have votes to approve it after heavy White House lobbying.

Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, the committee's top Democrat, said he has been told not to expect more than $3.5 billion in donations for Iraq from allies at the donors conference.

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

He said seeking matching funds for loans might be a way to leverage more international support.

The loan issue may come up again on the House floor, but Republicans leaders could prevent a direct vote on it.

The measure has a better chance in the Senate where several Republicans joined by most Democrats are pushing for at least partial repayment. Loans then could become an issue when the House and Senate reconcile differences in their bills before sending the final measure to Bush.

Responding to Bush's reorganization of his Iraq stabilization effort, lawmakers also added language specifying that Iraq money must be coordinated by an official who is confirmed by the Senate and so must testify to Congress.

Earlier in the week, Bush put national security adviser Condoleezza Rice in charge of the effort that has been headed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. In her position, Rice does not have to testify to Congress.

Committee Chairman Bill Young, a Florida Republican, said he expected Rumsfeld would answer to Congress on money issues.

The House committee rejected 36-25 an amendment that touched on many Democrats' complaints of Bush's Iraq policies.

It would have shifted money from Iraq's reconstruction to the Pentagon to better equip U.S. troops, called for stricter accounting of the funds, converted half of the reconstruction money to loans, and paid the bill's $87 billion cost by canceling tax cuts for the top 1 percent incomes.

With many Democrats charging that Iraq's rebuilding was becoming a boon to contractors with ties to the White House, the committee accepted an amendment requiring reviews of contracts awarded without bids seven days before they are awarded and more accounting of how reconstruction money was being spent.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3588870