House of Representatives debates war spending bill, US military role in Pakistan

On Capitol Hill today, the House of Representatives debated the War in Afghanistan, and for the first time, the U.S. military role in Pakistan. Congress is expected to approve $33 billion for emergency war spending. It would then go to the president’s desk without funding for education and other domestic priorities originally included. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports:

TRANSCRIPT:

Barely 24 hours after Wikileaks.org released 92,000 reports detailing the depths and mishaps of the War in Afghanistan, the House debated $33 billion worth of war funding.

Also known as the Afghan War Diary, the documents did little to alter the minds of members when it comes to funding U.S. troops.

Representative Ike Skelton is chair of the House Armed Services Committee:

“I wish we could have sent this bill to the president sooner. Passage of this bill today will ensure funding is provided to the Department of Defense without any operational disruptions.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned Congress that time is running out before more money is needed to pay for the war-bound troops.

Only firmly anti-war Democrats used the war documents to embolden their argument against the war:

“Well, after seeing the documents published yesterday-”

Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts:

“Corruption and incompetence in the Afghan government, questions about the role of the Pakistani intelligence services. Madame Speaker, the same old same old is simply not working, and it’s costing us dearly.”

The war spending bill received less than one hour of debate, and it was taken up on “suspension.” That’s an expedited process used for measures deemed non-controversial, and demands a higher threshold for passage: two-thirds of House members.

But as the wars drag on, fissures among the Democrats are more exposed. One key Democrat came out in opposition. Chair of the Appropriations Committee David Obey is the lawmaker tasked with spearheading all funding bills, including war funding:

“I would be willing to support additional war funding if Congress would vote up or down on whether or not to continue this policy. But absent that discipline, I cannot look my constituents in the eye and say this operation will hurt our enemies more than it hurts us, so I will reluctantly vote no.”

The House took up the Senate’s version of the supplemental, stripped of incentives for war-weary members, which included $10 billion in money for education and overdue settlement money for disenfranchised black farmers.

Also on Tuesday, the House debated a measure that directs the president to remove U.S. troops from Pakistan.

Representative Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland and Texas Republican Ron Paul co-sponsored a measure that forced the first debate on U.S. military involvement in Pakistan. Kucinich said the president is violating the War Powers Resolution, because Congress never authorized military operations in Pakistan:

“Now, the War Powers Resolution requires the president report to Congress when he introduces armed forces abroad in certain situations.”.

Kucinich says WikiLeaks documents show that the Pakistani government is working with the Taliban, and diminish the validity of U.S. efforts there:

“People who are playing a double game with us- this is why we have to get out of Pakistan. That’s why we have to take a different approach here.”

President Obama has expanded the War in Afghanistan to include drone attacks across the Afghan border. And, according to the Department of Defense, about 230 U.S. troops are in Pakistan training Pakistani security forces.

Leigh Ann Caldwell, FSRN, Washington.

Photo: WikiLeaks shared 90,000 leaked documents with these three publications before releasing them online

Photo credit: alexcovic