House Leaders Announce Deal on War Funding
CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS Updated June 18, 2008 – 5:59 p.m.
By Dave Clarke and Liriel Higa, CQ Staff
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=3&docID=news-000002899543
House Democratic and Republican leaders Wednesday said they have reached a deal on war spending they believe President Bush will sign.
The leaders declined to reveal specifics of the deal, which the House is expected to vote on Thursday. Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer , D-Md., went straight to a meeting with Senate leaders, who have not signed off on the deal, to inform them of the agreement.
“I think we have an agreement on what the supplemental will look like,” Hoyer said. “I think if we pass the supplemental pursuant to this agreement we have an indication the White House will sign this.”
Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, added: “This is an agreement that has been worked out in a bipartisan way that I think is acceptable to most Democrats and most Republicans and to the White House.”
But Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey , D-Wis., cautioned the deal had yet to be put in writing.
“This agreement has required significant compromise by both sides and we need to get it down in writing before we talk about the individual pieces so that there are no slip ups because we want to put this thing to bed and finish it in the House tomorrow.”
While no details of the final deal were released, House Democrats have been considering a package (HR 2642) that would include funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to last the rest of this year and enough to fund operations into spring or early summer 2009. Democrats also have considered including expanded GI Bill education benefits for veterans and an extension of unemployment benefits for all states that includes an additional 13 weeks in states with high unemployment.
The bill also is likely to include about $2 billion to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency deal with flooding in the Midwest. Bush has asked Congress to add money for flood relief.
The sticking points have been whether to offset the cost of the veterans education benefit and Republicans insistence that the unemployment benefit be targeted only to states with high unemployment and individuals work at least 20 weeks before collecting the extended federal benefit.
House Democratic aides said a 2 p.m. meeting initiated by Hoyer in his office with Boehner and attended by White House officials led to the deal. Aides said the two party leaders later met in Hoyer’s office and provided a green light for the House Rules Committee to pave the way for floor action Thursday.
Alan K. Ota contributed to this story.
First posted June 18, 2008 10:01 a.m.