President Bush announced that the bipartisan Biden-Lugar resolution is too restrictive, and is even weaker than the original 1998 congressional resolution authorizing force against Iraq. He warned Congress to not “tie my hands.”
The argument is about the scope of the pending resolution in Congress. The Bush Administration would like authorization to use force throughout the Middle East, while the compromise resolution from Senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware) and Senator [redacted] Lugar (R-Indiana) would limit his authority to Iraq alone. Another resolution put forth by Senator Carl Levin, would explicitly require a UN mandate before any US action.
The House is much closer than the Senate to agreement with the White House. MSNBC is reporting that debate on the measures will begin on Wednesday.
In the NYT , Lugar and Biden are described as “scrambling” top win White House approval of the alternative resolution. The NYT also mentions the reason for the delay on the vote until Wednesday: too many proposed changes from Democrats. The Senate leadership had to wait until Wednesday to avoid a very messy debate on the floor. The piece then describes a number of moderate Republicans joining the liberal Democrats in criticising the original Bush resolution. NYT also says the alternative resolution “would emphasize the defense needs of the United States and its allies,” rather than national security concerns.
The NYT also describes a fourth alternative to the Bush, Lugar-Biden and Levin resolutions. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) has a resolution which only authorizes the use of force if Iraq does not comply with UN Security Council resolutions within thirty days. She described the alternative as an attempt to broaden support for the Administration, by calming fears of unilateralism.
The NYT piece then tackles the Senate filibusters. Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), a longtime critic of the President’s policies, could delay a resolution for two days. Any floor debate on the resolution is stealing time from the Homeland Security Department, whose authorization is being filibustered by Republican senators. They don’t want the Senate’s version passed without satisfying the White House’s demand for control over the hiring and firing of workers — in the form of non-union staffing for the department.
The NYT prophesies that the debate could stretch into next week, when a vote can finally take place.
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