Posted on 10/16/2003 8:14:14 PM PDT by thefamous
Senate Defies Bush, Approves Iraqi Loans
WASHINGTON - The Senate defied President Bush (news - web sites) on Thursday and voted to convert half his $20.3 billion Iraqi rebuilding plan into a loan, dealing the White House an embarrassing foreign policy setback.
Despite an administration lobbying campaign that in recent days involved Bush himself, Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) and other top officials, the Republican-run chamber voted 51-47 for a bipartisan proposal making $10 billion of the aid a loan.
The administration argued that loans would worsen Iraq (news - web sites)'s foreign debt, slow its recovery and hand a propaganda victory to America's enemies. But the vote underscored that with presidential and congressional elections 13 months away, many lawmakers were more worried about vast new spending for foreign aid at a time of record federal deficits at home.
"It's very hard for me to go home and explain that we have to give $20 billion to a country sitting on $1 trillion worth of oil," said one loan supporter, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
The vote came as the House and Senate edged toward approval of similar $87 billion measures to finance American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites), as well as the reconstruction of both countries. The lion's share of both bills is about $66 billion for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, funds over which there was little controversy.
About two hours before the Senate roll call, the GOP-led House voted 226-200 to kill a similar loan proposal introduced by Democrats. The two chambers will have to negotiate compromise language before a final bill is sent to Bush for his signature — which congressional leaders hope to do before next week's conference of donor nations in Madrid, Spain.
"They've counted him (Bush) down and out before. It's just another bump in the road," said Tom Korologos, a congressional lobbyist for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority now running Iraq.
Eight Republicans abandoned Bush and voted to change his plan: Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, John Ensign of Nevada, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Democrats who opposed the loan proposal were Joseph Biden of Delaware, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, and Zell Miller of Georgia.
Under the bipartisan amendment to $10 billion of the Iraqi aid a loan, the money would be transformed into a grant if other countries agreed to forgive at least 90 percent of the debt they were owed by Iraq. That debt is usually estimated at between $90 billion and $127 billion.
The loan proposal was the most dramatic change lawmakers have made in the mammoth spending package that the president proposed on Sept. 7.
Its approval by the Senate marked the first congressional vote in opposition to Bush's policies in Iraq. It was also the latest of several setbacks that Congress has dealt him in recent months on issues including concentration of media ownership, new rules on overtime pay, and travel to Cuba.
While the Senate bill provided the full $20.3 billion for rebuilding that Bush sought, the House measure chopped it down to $18.6 billion. It did so by erasing politically fragile proposals: funds for buying $50,000 garbage trucks, creating Iraqi ZIP codes and restoring the country's marshlands.
The administration and its supporters wanted the rebuilding assistance to be entirely grants financed by U.S. taxpayers. They warned that loans would nurture Arab suspicions about the United States' true motivation in Iraq.
"The battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people is not over by a long shot," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. He said the amendment "will send a clear signal that the United States is really, really there for the oil."
Cheney called senators during the day hoping to block the loan plan, congressional aides said. And two senators — Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who had initially said they supported loans switched Thursday and said they had been persuaded to oppose them.
But as the day wore on in the Senate, expressions of optimism by administration officials and GOP Senate aides faded.
The White House budget office released a statement saying the administration strongly opposed loans. But the letter omitted any mention of a veto threat, which the office sometimes includes to send a strong message of opposition.
The sponsors of the Senate loan amendment were: Sens. Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites), D-N.Y.; Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine; John Ensign, R-Nev.; Ben Nelson, D-Neb.; and Graham.
In earlier tests, the Senate voted 57-42 to reject a Democratic proposal to let Bush quickly spend the first half of the $20.3 billion but require him to get Congress' assent next year to spend the rest.
It also voted 65-34 to kill an amendment by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., barring funds from going to contracts with companies that owe deferred compensation to 22 top Bush administration officials. Among them was Cheney, whose former firm, Halliburton Co., has received $1.4 billion for working to restore Iraq's oil industry.
Saddling Iraq with more debt would complicate efforts to repair an economy in tatters. It also makes the U.S. look hypocritical by adding to Iraq's debt even as it tries to persuade
France, Russia and other foreign creditors to forgive or postpone some of their loans to Iraq.
They can print new money just for that purpose.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a setback to President Bush (news - web sites), the U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to convert half of a $20 billion aid package Bush sought to rebuild Iraq (news - web sites) into a loan.
The Senate voted 51-47 to make $10 billion a loan to Iraq that Bush could forgive if other creditor countries waive repayment of at least 90 percent of debts they hold from Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime.
The House of Representatives, also plowing through amendments to Bush's $87 billion request for military operations and rebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites), rejected an effort to convert some of the reconstruction aid into loans by a 226-200 vote.
That means the issue will have to be settled when lawmakers reconcile the two bills to send Bush a final measure, which he wants on his desk before an Oct. 23-24 international donors conference for Iraq to be held in Madrid.
Bush has a major political stake in the issue, having personally lobbied lawmakers against seeking repayment of the money to rebuild Iraq which he said would hinder efforts to stabilize the country and undermine the donors conference for it.
"The Iraqi people shouldn't be saddled with more debt," a senior administration official told reporters aboard Air Force One as the Bush traveled to Asia. "We're going to have to come to some understanding about the state of the current Iraqi debt. It's needs are immediate."
Both the Senate and the House were expected to vote by Friday on the emergency spending measure, which also provides $67 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Senate will have to vote for the grants, or nothing.
Yet he can go home and explain that we have to give $67 billion to a country sitting on $1 trillion worth of oil.
His argument is weak and strictly political while the President is concerned with winning the war long term. I'm not sure what Graham and his confederates are concerned with.
Salute to these Senators!
If $20 billion is "vast," what is the $85 billion in new revenues from the tax cuts that was just reported this week ----"colossal?" , "super-colossal?" Yet it isn't even being mentioned by the lying press.
We gave the Euroweenies all the excuse they need to continue to collect their debt. I hope that Iraq repudiates all debt for which their Elected representatives didn't vote (oops that would include our $10 billion also).
I think that this sucks - I can't wait to hear what the Arab press says about this bit of American Imperialism (sort of like what Great Britain did to Egypt when building the Suez Canal).
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. meets with reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday, Oct. 16, 2003 after giving a speech on Iraq onthe floor of the Senate. In the speech Kennedy said he will vote against the $87 billion bill to fund the war in Iraq because the administration does not have a realistic plan to stabilize the country and bring the troops home. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
I think he died and someone forgot to bury him.
I'm not sure if this is the best way for the Senate to massage our foreign policy in a situation as important as finishing what we started in Iraq
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.