House to vote on Iraq base ban Wednesday

The House will vote Wednesday on a measure to forbid the creation of permanent military bases in Iraq, congressional aides said.

{mosads}The vote is part of an effort by Democratic leaders to continue to test the support of Republican lawmakers for the increasingly unpopular war. Democrats have been able to pass legislation calling for the withdrawal of troops, but they’ve been unable to move President Bush or a substantial number of his fellow Republicans in Congress.

“There is a lot of disagreement about Iraq, but there is widespread agreement on both sides of the aisle that U.S. occupation should not be permanent, and that is a good place to start,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the author of the bill.

The issue is one of the rallying cries for the Democratic Party’s liberal base. The “no permanent bases” legislation will be dealt with on the suspension calendar, where debate is sharply limited and a two-thirds vote is required for passage.