Supplemental likely to pass Senate

The long-awaited emergency spending bill will likely pass the Senate and end the Democrats’ last big fight over Iraq with President Bush, Democratic leaders signaled Thursday.

While the leaders said they could not predict what would happen when the Senate takes up the measure next week, they declared victory since the White House reversed course and has agreed to allow billions of dollars of new domestic-spending provisions to be added to a pending House bill. Initially, the White House insisted that the bill be restricted to funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The deal puts aside $165 billion to fight the wars through the beginning of the next presidency. As part of the deal, the administration had to give up ground on its opposition to adding some domestic spending to the package.

{mosads}In turn, the Democrats had to agree to drop demands for some programs, including a $1 billion low-income heating assistance initiative and state and local law enforcement grants. Also, they were forced to eliminate language calling for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, falling short of 2006 campaign promises to end the unpopular war.

House leaders reached the deal with the White House Wednesday night, and are expected to approve the measure Thursday, ending several weeks of a bitter stalemate between the White House and congressional Democrats.

Senate Democrats praised the package and its inclusion of a $52 billion expansion of educational benefits for veterans under the GI Bill, the postponement of six Bush-backed Medicaid rules and a 13-week extension of unemployment insurance for all states. The Democrats claimed that the 75 senators who supported a much broader domestic spending package in May prompted the shift from the White House.

“Look at the progress that’s been made,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Thursday. “It’s going to get over here, we’re going to take it up — exactly how, I don’t know just yet.”

Reid would not say whether he would seek to limit amendments to the package, saying he would first discuss the issue with his conference. He said he supports the domestic package and opposes the war funding, but added, “That doesn’t mean that it won’t pass.

“I’m not a dictator here, and I’m going to meet with my caucus and we’re going to decide what we’re going to do," Reid said.

Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), a member of Democratic leadership, hailed the breakthrough of including the GI Bill, which was authored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and strongly opposed by GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and the White House.

“I am very proud that today we are on the verge of passing the GI Bill,” Murray said. “If I would have told any of you two months ago that we were going to be able to get a supplemental bill above and beyond what the president was asking for, to include the GI Bill, I don’t think you would have believed me.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the majority whip, said the Senate would try to move the bill quickly but added it was unclear how his conference would react to the deal.

“Those to me are amazing victories when you consider the weakened position we were in last year,” Durbin said of the domestic spending provisions.

The White House last year insisted that Democrats not include spending above the president’s requested levels, and Democrats were forced to drop their push in order to keep the government running. 

Reid signaled Thursday that the supplemental would likely be the last spending bill approved this year since White House budget director Jim Nussle has said that Congress should not exceed the president’s budget in its 12 annual appropriations bills.

“I don’t think he should be waiting … to get these bills because he’s unwilling to work with us," Reid said. “We’re having to deal with Nussle, who should be muzzled.”