Abercrombie seeks to resurrect compromise Iraq bill

Rep. Neil Abercrombie’s bipartisan Iraq withdrawal bill appeared to have been abandoned last month when Democratic leaders opted not to bring it to the floor in the final days before the August break.

But now Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) is trying to revive the bill he authored with Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.). He’s reaching out to fellow members and drafting a letter to Democratic leaders urging them to bring his bill up for a vote.

{mosads}“This is the only bipartisan bill out there that has support in all parts of the Democratic Caucus and the Republican Conference,” said Abercrombie spokesman Dave Helfert. “There’s no point in not planning for the post-surge.”

The Abercrombie-Tanner measure would order President Bush to deliver within two months a plan on how to redeploy troops.

The bill garnered 24 Republican votes when the House Armed Services Committee voted it out in July. Among its 12 co-sponsors are GOP Reps. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, Phil English of Pennsylvania, and Mike Castle of Delaware.

But it prompted a round of intense sniping, threats and floor maneuvers within the Democratic Caucus as leaders pondered whether to bring it to the floor in the final hours before the August recess.

Liberal Democrats have opposed it because they don’t want to support Iraq redeployment measures lacking a “date certain.”
They warn that such measures give “cover” to Republicans to tell constituents they have voted for redeployment without voting for Bush to bring the troops home.

Abercrombie called the argument of his fellow liberals a “dumb thought.” He stressed that his was the only Iraq bill that could get bipartisan support and move the Iraq issue forward.

Pelosi spent most of the afternoon on the Friday before recess in her Capitol office refereeing the fight about the bill between Abercrombie and the leaders of the Out of Iraq caucus. The session ended without a decision, but the bill stayed on the shelf.

The Abercrombie-Tanner bill was discussed in a conference call during August with the Democratic leaders. Leaders also
brought up a bill by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) on “dwell time” and readiness requirements, which also includes absolute withdrawal language from House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) and Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.).

Lawmakers are also wondering whether Bush will follow through on press reports that he plans to ask for an extra $50 billion in the Iraq supplemental to be debated near the end of the month. That would bring the total supplemental to nearly $200 billion.

Democratic leaders planned to meet and discuss Iraq on Tuesday evening and continue talks during Wednesday’s caucus meeting. Not much is expected to happen on the floor before Gen. David Petraeus testifies before Congress next week.

Abercrombie, Tanner and two of the Republican co-sponsors of their bill, Castle and English, were among the lawmakers who sent a message to Democratic and Republican leaders Tuesday calling for unity on Iraq.

“It is absolutely crucial that we stabilize Iraq and transition the combat mission to the Iraqis,” the letter read. “Any future legislative proposals considered in the House must reflect a bipartisan approach to this conflict … We ask that you join us in committing to a truly bipartisan dialogue on this issue immediately.”

Castle and English in February voted against the president’s “surge” plan to send over 20,000 additional troops to Iraq.

Meanwhile, Out of Iraq caucus members will gather Wednesday for a news conference in support of legislation to stop funding for the training and arming of Iraqi Security Forces. They say weapons provided to the Security Forces are already falling into the hands of militias and criminals and are being used against U.S. forces and allies in the region.

In addition, the activists from the anti-war group Code Pink are planning to step up their activities to pressure Congress into voting to end the war. They will announce their plans at a press conference Wednesday morning.

Jackie Kucinich contributed to this report.