Senate Republicans stop troop dwell time bill

Senate Republicans succeeded Wednesday afternoon in stopping legislation that would have mandated more rest for troops between deployments to war zones.

{mosads}Democrats, who had hoped that the legislation would help change the course in Iraq, failed to get the 60 votes required to overcome a GOP filibuster. Leading up to the vote, Democrats had been somewhat confident that they could succeed and win a rare legislative victory on Iraq. The last time the language, which is championed by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), came up, it attracted 56 votes, including seven Republicans.

However, it became clear early in the day that it would be an uphill battle for Democrats when Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), who had voted in favor of the measure the last time it came up, withdrew his support.

In addition, the White House has threatened that President Bush would veto the legislation if it reached his desk. The bill would need 67 votes to overcome a veto.

Prior to the vote, supporters and opponents debated the constitutionality of the language, with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) leading the charge that the measure overstepped Congress’s bounds.