Reid talks tough after vote

WASHINGTON -- As the Senate left Friday for Thanksgiving recess, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., issued a final blast at President Bush and Republicans who balked at voting for a bill that sought to change the course of the Iraq war.

Republicans in turn blamed Democrats for "gridlock," saying the war debate has been turned into a political exercise.

In a final volley before the holiday, Republicans blocked a Democrat-written bill that offered $50 billion for the military in Iraq and Afghanistan but also called for troops to be brought home.

Democrats in turn blocked a Republican bill containing $70 billion with no strings attached.

Reid maintained the Bush "surge" strategy of flowing thousands of additional troops to Iraq has not brought about political improvements in the country and needs to be scrapped. He said the Democrats' offer was reasonable.

"The president and his enablers in Congress are so afraid of being held accountable for this disastrous war policy that they would rather leave our men and women in uniform empty-handed than work to change course in Iraq," he said after the votes.

The vote on the Democrats' bill was 53-45 but 60 votes were needed to proceed. The Republican bill gained 45 votes, short by 15 of what was needed.

"The president was offered the money," Reid said. "There were very minimal accountability provisions in this bill. And even then he sneered and said no."

Talking with reporters, Reid offered no new timetable for considering war funding. He said Army personnel would be "just fine" through February and the Marines would be "OK" until the middle of March.

Congress is scheduled to return to work the first week in December.

"We are going to continue to do the right thing for the American people, but by having limited accountability for the president and not a blank check," Reid said.

Republican leaders including Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., criticized Democrats, saying they have failed to act.

"It has now been over 280 days since the president asked for the emergency troop funding," Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said in a Republican news conference. "They still don't have it."

He added, "You would think that on the verge of a Thanksgiving recess when members of Congress are going home to their constituencies, we would have some progress. Instead, it's the same broken Congress."

Ensign said Democrats were undermining the authority of the U.S. commander in Iraq.

"The American people would rather have General (David) Petraeus running the war than members of Congress," Ensign said. "We cannot, the 535 of us, set timelines. We cannot put strategy on the ground. That is what (Democrats) are trying to do by putting strings on the funding."

Contact Washington Bureau reporter Jason C. Green at jgreen @stephensmedia.com or (202) 783-1760.