House insists on Iraq withdrawal deadline

WASHINGTON -- The House voted last week to insist that a war spending bill Congress will send to President Bush contain binding deadlines for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq.

The 215-199 vote came as negotiators from the House and Senate prepared to finalize a $123 billion bill with funding for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The House version requires American soldiers to be withdrawn by the end of August 2008.

The Senate version contains an earlier deadline of March 31, 2008, but it is not binding.

The House vote came on a motion to advise the negotiators. It was not binding, but it was initiated by Republicans wanting to get lawmakers on the record for or against a withdrawal timetable.

All but nine Democrats voted to insist that an upcoming House-Senate conference committee stick with the House version.

All but one Republican voted against the withdrawal deadline.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., voted for the strict deadline for troop withdrawals. Reps. Dean Heller and Jon Porter, both R-Nev., voted against the deadline.

D.C. VOTING RIGHTS APPROVED

The House voted 241-177 to grant the District of Columbia a full seat in Congress, following debate over whether the move was constitutional.

The district would be represented by a House member with full voting rights. It now has a delegate who can vote in committee but not on the House floor.

Since the district is overwhelmingly Democratic, the bill also adds a House seat for Utah for balance.

Most voters in Utah are Republican, and bill sponsors said Utah likely would gain a seat anyway in the next decennial census.

The House would expand from 435 to 437 members.

All but six Democrats voted to give the district full voting rights.

All but 22 Republicans voted against the bill.

Supporters said the Constitution gives Congress broad powers over the district, and its residents deserve full representation because they pay taxes and are called to serve in the armed forces.

White House officials issued a veto threat, and the bill is expected to run into roadblocks in the Senate.

Critics said the bill would violate the constitutional provision that says House members shall be elected by "people of the several states."

Washington is a city and not a state, they pointed out.

Berkley and Porter voted to grant the District of Columbia congressional voting rights. Heller voted against the bill.

DISASTER LOAN CHANGES

The House voted 267-158 to revamp disaster loan programs run by the Small Business Administration.

The bill would double the disaster loan limit to $3 million. It would create a post within the agency for disaster planning and require the SBA to revise repayment deadlines and create a centralized system to track applications.

The changes stemmed from criticism that the Small Business Administration was slow to respond to Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.

Critics said the bill was flawed in its details. They charged it would allow certain claimants to double-dip, gaining compensation twice for the same disaster.

Sponsors said the criticism was misleading, and the chances for abuse were overstated.

Opponents also said it would allow the Small Business Administration to extend loans to companies unlikely to recover from a disaster and unlikely to pay back their loans.

Berkley and Porter voted in favor of the bill. Heller voted against it. PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL BLOCKED

Republicans blocked a bill that would allow the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare patients.

Democrats made the prescription drug bill one of the featured elements of their agenda. But they were unable to gain the 60 votes needed to overcome a procedural hurdle.

Supporters of the bill, mostly Democrats, argued the government should be allowed to use its clout to negotiate with drug makers over expensive medicines provided through the Medicare Part D prescription benefit.

Republicans said price negotiations are better left to the private sector.

They noted the Medicare prescription drug program that Congress created in 2003 has cost less than estimated and contended that was because the government largely has been hands off.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., voted to block the bill.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., supported the bill, but cast a vote against it in a procedural move that gives him, as Senate majority leader, the ability to call it up for fresh debate whenever he chooses.