Hoyer dodges question on Iraq floor strategy

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday he wants an Iraq war supplemental spending bill on the floor next week. That means it’s almost certain the bill will not go through a committee vote. But Hoyer declined to acknowledge that leadership plans to bypass committee.

“That is still under discussion,” Hoyer told reporters.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), a member of the Appropriations Committee, said he did not think fellow appropriators are bothered by the decision.

{mosads}Meanwhile, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who sits on the Appropriations Defense subcommittee, told reporters Wednesday that he wants to see the supplemental bill move through the Appropriations Committee, and noted there was interest from Democratic leadership to limit the number of extraneous provisions to it.

"There are a number of things that I think we should add, but I want to withhold a bit," Dorgan said.

"That's kind of like a commandment here in the legislative business. Try to keep these supplemental appropriations bills as free as is possible. … There is an appetite and a backlog to do things that need doing and it's always a struggle for some to say, ‘Keep things off the supplemental’ and others to say, 'Look, we don't have a choice. We need to add something here that needs doing now.’ ”

“The dilemma we have is this: The supplemental is going to start in the House and there are several ways it can be handled in the Senate," Dorgan said. "If it goes right to the Senate floor, you know, as an original text, then the question is, how do you actually amend it. If it goes to the committee, what opportunities exist?"