Senate Defies Bush On Iraq
Senate Defies Bush On Iraq Assistance
Loan Provision Approved in 51 to 47 Vote
By Jonathan Weisman
Defying weeks of intense White House lobbying, a narrowly divided Senate voted last night to convert half of President Bush's $20.3 billion Iraq rebuilding plan into a loan that would be forgiven if other donor nations write off the debt incurred by the ousted government of Saddam Hussein.
…The Senate and House are poised to approve today nearly all of the president's $87 billion request for the military and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senate's version of the spending measure mirrors Bush's, although it contains the $10 billion loan provision. The House's version hews closely to the administration's but shaves $1.7 billion from the reconstruction fund, stripping out such items as the Iraq Zip code implementation, garbage trucks and a one-month business course that has become politically unpalatable to many Republicans.[P6: "Iraq Zip code implementation"???]
…Bush has maintained that a loan would confirm Middle Eastern suspicions of U.S. motives in Iraq, but Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said no amount of money is going to change the minds of those who believe the administration invaded for Iraq's oil.[P6: For instance, you'll NEVER change MY mind about it]
…"We will pay any price and bear any burden to advance the cause of human liberty," DeLay told lawmakers. "[P6: Except in Texas.]
